Tell Me, We Met For A Reason Right?
by KAT-TUN Lover
Summary: A single meeting is all it takes... "Do you think it happened for a reason?" "Yeah, probably..." The two looked to the sky and wondered if they would ever see them again. HayatoxOC RyuxOC
1. Intro

"**Bokutachi no deai wo riyuu ga aru deshou?" "We Met For A Reason Right?"**

_**First Ever Gokusen Story of my own... Be easy, I know I'm not good at capturing the personality of a character that isn't mine, please bare with me, my mind, and my addiction to Gokusen 2... And Jin... and Kame... Also, I'm altering the story a little according to my own imagination. ^^ Kay kay? EDIT: I changed the summary a little because I hadn't changed it before I rewrote the first chapter. EDIT Sequel: I had Juri and Kiri's personalities mixed up. XD Plus, I added a little bit more to what I do not own... I also don't own any of the songs I might mention in the future... EDIT #3: I updated the prologue with a second summary of the story pertaining to current events... Because I felt it needed to be done.**_

* * *

Ok, summary time, the real one to help understand the story more.

It all started when Misawa-kun's girlfriend dumped him. The guys had witnessed the whole thing too. She had brought along her look alike cousin. After seeing the two, Hyuga, Tsuchi, and Hayato had to agree. They were hot. And what was more, they went to Momogaoka Girls High School right next door. But they hadn't expected to see the two again.

Then, after Take met Maki-chan, they started to wonder what other types of girls were at Momogaoka Girls High School. They eventually meet Maki-chan's friends, Kitano, Juri, Jinnai, Kiri, and Hasegawa, Mitsu. But Maki-chan had two other friends that they were not expecting to ever see again. Then after a few attempts to get to know these girls, they find them somewhere they least expected them to be. Ever.

When the guys realize that Misawa's ex-girlfriend and her cousin have connections to their homeroom teacher, will they still use the group date to confront them? Or will they graduate before they can find anything out?

(This summary involves everything from the Prologue to Chapter 10. I've named this chunk _"The Game of Fate Begins"_.)

* * *

**Characters that I do not own from Gokusen 2 Dramaverse:**

Yamaguchi, Kumiko (Yankumi/ Ojou/ Kumicho) (Math Teacher)

Sawatari, Goro (Kurogin Vice Principal)

Shiratori, Hitomi (English Teacher

Inuzuka, Taichi (Japanese Language Teacher)

Kameyama, Takeshi (Ethics Teacher)

Inomata, Shinji (Chemistry Teacher)

Wanibuchi, Sayuri (Music Teacher)

Baba, Seiga (Physical Education Teacher)

Kurokawa, Ginji (Chairman of Kurogin High School)

Kujo, Takuma (Teacher in Momogaoka Girls High School)

Kumai, Teruo (Former Student of Yankumi)

Noda Takeshi (Former Student of Yankumi)

Yabuki, Hayato

Odagiri, Ryu

Takeda, Keita

Hyuga, Kosuke

Tsuchiya, Hikaru

Misawa, Hiro

Mizushima, Maki (Momogaoka Girls High School Student)

All 3-D students

The girls from the Group Date with Momo girls in episode 9...

* * *

**Characters that I am adding:**

Minami, Ayumi (Music Teacher)

Hasegawa, Mitsu

Jinnai, Kiri

Kitano, Juri

Minami, Saya

Tsukioka, Sayo

Tsukioka, Mayumi

Tsukioka, Yuto

Tanaka, Miku

Yoshida, Tamaki

Kawamura, Jiro

Bryan, Kandi

Kerris, Melissa

* * *

**Now to profiles~**

Name: Minami, Saya (南さや)

Age: 18-22

School: Momogaoka Girls High School

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Eye Color: Light Brown

Fav. Color: Red

Family: Minami, Ayumi (Mother), Tsukioka, Mayumi (Aunt), Tsukioka, Yuto (Uncle), Tsukioka, Sayo (Cousin)

Personality: Bubbly, fun, and knows how to have a good time. She's really fun to hang out with, and is always seen with her look alike cousin, who was born on the same day. She's a tad more girly than her companion though. Loves her mother deeply, wouldn't let her get hurt for the world. Also loves her Aunt and Uncle a lot. Currently living with her mother in a two bedroom apartment.

Link: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Minami -Saya -121686862

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Name: Tsukioka, Sayo (月丘さよ)

Age: 18-22

School: Momogaoka Girls High School

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Eye Color: Light Brown

Fav. Color: Navy Blue/ Silver

Family: Tsukioka, Yuto (Father), Tsukioka, Mayumi (Mother), Minami, Ayumi (Aunt), Minami, Saya (Cousin)

Personality: A little opposite of her cousin, Sayo is a non-talkative girl when she first meets someone. But once she gets to know someone, she's really talkative and fun to be around like her cousin. She's a little more tomboyish than the others. She loves her parents, Aunt and cousin to death and wouldn't let anything come between her and them. Her and her parents are living in a medium sized house not too far from the school.

Link: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Tsukioka -Sayo -121681353

* * *

Name: Jinnai, Kiri (陣内きり)

Age: 18-22

School: Momogaoka Girls High School

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Dark Brown

Fav. Color: Orange

Family: Mother, Father

Personality: Hyperactive, loves to joke around, loves gossiping as well. She is a good friend, but can also be unreliable. A goofy girl with a crazy, interactive mind. She lives with her family in a large house, though to her it isn't large enough, around the same area of the school, but closer to Mitsu.

Link: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Jinnai -Kiri -121687417

* * *

Name: Hasegawa, Mitsu (長谷川みつ)

Age: 18-22

School: Momogaoka Girls High School

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Medium Brown

Fav. Color: Sea Green

Family: Mother, Father, Older Brother

Personality: A very composed, gentle, yet commanding girl. She doesn't like seeing her friends hurt, and would hurt, or at least try to hurt, anyone who has hurt them. Jokes around from time to time. Usually has a very serious tone though. She lives with her parents in a large house a few bus stops away from the school. Her older brother just recently moved out to live on his own for college.

Link: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Hasegawa -Mitsu -121688230

* * *

Name: Kitano, Juri (北乃じゅり)

Age: 18-22

School: Momogaoka Girls High School

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Hazel

Fav. Color: Lavender

Family: Mother, Father, Younger Sister, Older Sister

Personality: Shy, sweet, kind, and has good manners. She doesn't really like to speak up a lot. Her timidness is usually her downfall. She can rambunctious if she wants to though. She lives with her family in a medium sized house in the same area of the school.

Link: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Kitano -Juri -121687776

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**Summary #2 *Warning: Do NOT read if you have not gotten past chapter 10.***

_Love is a trying emotion._

After graduation, things begin to get turbulent. Emotions are running wild, everyone's taking their own path, and it's getting harder to keep in touch. Relationships are being put to the test. Two of them are being really stubborn. There's talk of America, and no one knows what Sayo is thinking.

New faces make an appearance, and Sayo decides to test her own abilities. Could a wedding in the future change her mind? Who will she choose, the hot DJ? Or Ryu?

(This summary involves everything from Chapter 11 to the current chapter. Chapters 11-16 are chunk 2, titled "Life Always Gets in the Way". Chapters 17-23 are chunk 3, titled "Running Away Doesn't Solve Anything".)

* * *

Name: Kandi Bryan

Age: 20-24

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Green

Fav. Color: Hot Pink

Family: Mother, Father, Older Brother, Sister-in-law

Personality: Crazy, unpredictable, and a joker. She likes to have fun wherever she goes, and is always the first one to start dancing.

Link: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Kandi -Bryan -162858605

* * *

Name: Melissa Kerris

Age: 22-25

Hair Color: Dark Brown

Eye Color: Teal

Fav. Color: Light Blue

Family: Mother, Father, Older Sister, Brother-in-law, Nephew, Older Brother, Sister-in-law, Niece

Personality: Sweet, caring, and sincere. Has a rich family, so she is very intelligent, though she likes house work very much.

Link: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Melissa -Kerris -162859115

* * *

Name: Yoshida, Tamaki (Yamashita Tomohisa)

Age: 23-27

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

Fav. Color: Maroon

Family: Mother, Father, Younger Brother

Personality: Fun to hang with, enjoys a good party, and knows music. He's usually the life of the party seeing as he always controls the music. He's a really good Dj at the Dream Star Club and is also a ballroom dance teacher at the club's sister business, Dream Dance School.

* * *

Name: Kawamura, Jiro (Mukai Osamu)

Age: 22-26

Hair Color: Light Brown

Eye Color: Hazel

Fav. Color: Green

Family: Mother, Father, Younger Sister, Older Brother, Sister-in-law, Nephew

Personality: Usually serious about a lot of things, but can let loose and party with friends, joke around, and have a good time. Caution: when drunk, he likes to pick on people and his ego inflates… He usually talks about what a great dancer he supposedly is when he's drunk. Is a teacher at Dream Dance School with Yoshida.

* * *

Hope you enjoy the story~


	2. Prologue

_Edit: My stupid fast typing fingers hit a few colons when they should've hit the quote, so I fixed that, and a few spelling errors too._

* * *

Minami, Ayumi and Yamaguchi, Kumiko went to college together. Before Yamaguchi, Kumiko went off to college, Tsukioka, Sayo lived in Kamiyama-chou knowing her as Oedo's Ojou.

Kumiko once saved Sayo from a small group of irritated high school thugs. After the encounter, Kumiko invited Sayo to her house once a week in order to teach her how to defend herself.

Minami, Ayumi was not married like her twin sister, Mayumi. While she was in college, she had the six year old Saya and was living off of her parents support. Saya did her best in school for her mom since that was all she could do.

After Kumiko went off to college, Sayo and Saya entered junior high in the same area, since Sayo's parents moved from Kamiyama-chou.

* * *

The two cousins, Saya and Sayo, were born on the same day, at the same time, but in different areas. When Sayo and her parents moved from Kamiyama-chou she was united with her cousin and met a lot of new people. One of those people was Misawa, Hiro.

The two girls are what most guys would call "a vision of beauty", but they just find themselves normal.

Long, straight, dark brown hair. Bright, shining, light brown eyes. Fair complexion and a trendy fashion sense. They felt they were normal. And they were fine with it.

Hiro had tried to keep his crush on Sayo a secret, but they knew. Just about every guy liked the two. Some girls were extremely jealous of them.

When they clearly told everyone on Valentine's that they weren't interested in any of the guys there however, a lot of girls forgot about their jealousy. And a lot of the guys gave up on the two.

After Kumiko started teaching, and after Sayo's second year of junior high, the two locked away their memories of the time before in order to focus on the present.

It just happened to be that Minami, Ayumi, Sayo, and Kumiko ended up right across the street from one another without them even knowing.

Before Yamaguchi, Kumiko showed up to teach at Kurogin, Sayo had finally given in and decided to let Misawa get over her. That was five months before Kumiko showed up. But we start our prologue one month before Kumiko started teaching at Kurogin.

* * *

3-D had been rambunctious, which was normal. The rest of the school had done their best to leave them be. Head Teacher had gone through many teachers already.

Hayato and his friends sat in the back of the room, engrossed in their own conversation. The many groups of the class were also immersed in their conversations that they didn't take note of the time.

One of the groups in the front of the room were leaving to go have fun. Seeing this, Ryu glanced up at the clock. Knowing the time, he looked back at his friends, who were still obliviously carrying on with their talk.

He sighed, momentarily closing his eyes, and turned his head forward. His gaze found a nervous, not to mention worried looking Misawa, Hiro staring at his lap.

Inwardly, Ryu wondered what could possibly be causing him to worry the way he was. It wasn't like they had a test or anything. He didn't seem like the type to have family problems either. So what was eating him up so bad?

By now, a lot of the other groups had left. Hiro finally stood, causing the other four to look at him curiously.

Hyuga's face scrunched in curiosity. "What's up Misawa?"

It took a moment for the words to register in the boy's mind. He looked up a little shocked. "Eh?"

"You look like you're worried about something.? Take explained.

"Yeah, what is it?" Tsuchi repeated Hyuga's question, lightly fanning himself, though it was unnecessary.

"Oh." Misawa nodded his head as he tried to think of the proper way to say this. "Ano... I'm supposed to be meeting my girlfrie-"

He was rudely interrupted by Take, Tsuchi, Hyuga, and Hayato. "EH!?" they looked astounded.

"It's not like it isn't possible you know..." Ryu mumbled, but they didn't hear him.

Misawa simply nodded his head at them and continued. "In a few minutes but..." he paused as his gaze fell to the floor beneath his feet.

"But what?" Hayato inquired curiously, the other three looking on with anticipation.

"Well..." Misawa didn't want to say it. He knew they would either laugh at him or feel sorry for him.

"How long have you been going out with her?" Take asked, seeing Misawa's undecided face.

"Four months..." Hiro answered without looking up from the floor.

"Wow..." the others whispered in awe.

"And you didn't tell anyone!?" Tsuchi seemed a little outraged, he closed his fan and pointed it at Misawa.

"Didn't even ask her to set up a goukon with her friends!?"Hyuga was also a little upset. Hayato only nodded his agreement.

"Well, I know she wouldn't have agreed." Misawa only shifted his eyes upwards to look at them. "Besides, I didn't want anyone to know I was dating a girl from Momojo..."

Seeing the faces the four made, and the head turn he got from Ryu, he wished right then that he hadn't said that.

"What!?" the four echoed, true looks of astonishment on their faces. Ryu's only held the smallest hint of surprise.

"How!?"

"Why!?"

"'How', 'why' what?" Hiro asked, completely confused, head now fully raised.

"How did you get a Momojo girlfriend!?" Hyuga.

"Why did she agree!?" Tsuchi.

"Well, I've known her since junior high..." Hiro trailed off, gazing at the floor again.

They all blinked twice at the answer given.

"But I've realized now that her and I are better off as friends." he looked up with determination.

"Whoa..." Take mumbled.

"Are you going to break up with her?" Hayato asked, seemingly back to a calm state of mind.

"Not really. I think she's actually going to break up with me today." Hiro confessed.

"Ouch." Tsuchi and Hyuga made faces of pain as they each raised a hand to their hearts.

"I'm all right with it now though." Hiro smiled and headed for the door to leave.

"Hey wait." Hayato called calmly, turning to face Hiro.

Hiro only turned halfway around with a questioning look pointed towards Hayato.

"What does she look like?"

Hiro only smirked and continued towards the exit.

"Guess we'll have to find out for ourselves then." Hayato grunted. He looked back at the guys, grabbing his bag in the process. "Oi, ikou ze." he tilted his head towards the door.

The others simply nodded, grabbed their stuff, and followed Hayato.

* * *

The two girls would have been completely okay with standing in front of Kurogin Gakuen, if only the guys leaving the school weren't staring.

Okay, so the staring wasn't what was getting under their skin.

What was seriously getting to them was the way all the 3-D boys leaving were making suggestive faces at them. Wiggling their eyebrows, winking at them, and staring them up-and-down. They also noticed that the guys were smirking at their bare legs.

The biggest difference between the two girls was their hair, and that was still just a small difference. The one on the left had layers, as to the girl on the right only had slight razor tips in the back.

Most of the non 3-D students from Kurogin were trying to decipher which girl was which. Not that the guys knew who they were anyway.

"Well, he sure is taking his sweet time..." the one with layers murmured with an irritated face.

"He'll be here..." the other had her eyes closed, trying to keep herself calm.

"I hope soon." the one with layers muttered, a tad more irritated than before. This time she angrily glared at the three 3-D students who looked at them.

The guys only ignored the glare and kept walking.

The two sighed simultaneously. The one with layers closed her eyes as her companion opened her eyes.

"Ah." she smiled, causing the one with layers to open her eyes again. "Misawa-kun."

"Hmm, so you finally made it out here." the one on the left folded her arms across her chest and had a mocking smirk on her face.

That gained her a small backhand from her look alike. As well as an irritated look.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Sayo-san, Saya-san." Hiro bowed his head a little.

"It's alright." the one on the right shook her head.

Before their conversation started, Hayato and the others stood by the gates, watching the interaction.

"Whoa..." Tsuchi and Hyuga's mouths hung open as they spotted the two girls.

"You're kidding right?" Take asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Which one is his?" Hayato had an extremely confused look on his face.

"Dunno..." the others, minus Ryu, titled their heads slightly.

"You know Misawa-kun, there's no need to be shy after all these years." the one on the left suddenly commented in a way Hayato would.

"She's kinda like you..." Tsuchi tried not to snicker while side glancing at Hayato, who gave him an odd look. The others only smiled secretly at the comment.

"Saya!" the one on the right chastised as she turned to her left. "Don't tease him."

"Eheh..." Saya, the one on the left, looked a bit surprised by the other girl's tone. "Gomen, Sayo..."

Sayo only closed her eyes and sighed while turning to face Hiro again.

"So..." Hiro started, unsure of how she was going to start the break up process.

"Ano, Misawa-kun, we kind of need to talk..." Sayo started with a semi sympathetic look on her face.

"Right." Misawa had a calm mask on.

"You see, exams are coming up and..." Sayo's eyes strayed to 3-D's building.

"We're better off as friends." he finished for her. A few seconds later, her eyes darted back to him.

"Wow, didn't see that coming..." Saya mumbled in amazement.

"Besides, you two need to focus on your studies." he smiled sincerely.

"I... I don't know what to say..." Sayo stuttered, searching the ground for an answer. After she regained herself, she gazed at him with a content smile. "Thank you for understanding."

"No problem." Misawa shook his head lightly.

"I never thought you'd be able to get over Sayo and realize you two are better off as friends in just four months." Saya stated, arms crossed over her chest, a sincere yet surprised expression on her face as her gaze stayed fixed on Misawa. "I'm proud of you Misawa-kun."

"Thanks." he chuckled, an amused look on his face.

Sayo only sighed. That was when she noticed the group of five by the Kurogin gates. They all stood in silence, watching intently, but apparently hadn't noticed she had been watching them. As she overlooked each boy, she made mental notes for each.

"Hey..." Saya tapped Sayo on the shoulder. Sayo jumped a tad, blinked once, and turned her head to Saya. "They're waiting for us."

"Ah right!" Sayo had suddenly remembered that their friends were waiting for them.

"Gomen Misawa-kun." Saya turned her attention to the boy in front of them again. "But we gotta go."

"Yeah the others are waiting for us." Sayo added with a small smile.

"Mm. Have fun." Hiro nodded his head with an understanding smile. "Take care."

"We will." and with that, the two girls took off in a sprint away from the schools.

Hiro stared off in the direction the two had left with a blank look. Hayato and the others took this time to approach the sorrowful boy.

Take patted Hiro on his shoulder a few times. "That was brave."

Hiro hung his head. "Thanks..."

"Too bad though..." Hyuga started, gazing over in the direction the girls left for a brief second. "They were hot."

"Really man, I didn't know you had it in you." Tsuchi commented as he tapped Hiro lightly on the chest.

"It's really a pity." Hayato added.

"Ah..." Ryu mumbled, nodding his head absently. He wasn't exactly interested in this like his friends were.

"So," Hayato, who had been staring off in the direction the two girls left in, turned his attention to the now depressed Misawa, Hiro. 'Which one was yours?"

The others' heads shot towards poor Hiro with expectant and extremely curious expressions. Ryu only gazed from the corners of his eyes with a bored and slightly curious expression.

"Uh... Sayo-san." The guys silently ushered him to go into more detail as their expression got even more intense. "The one who was on the right. Tsukioka, Sayo is her name."

They nodded their heads a little at the answer.

"Wait." Tsuchi came to a realization. Why were there two girls?

Hyuga and Take also seemed to realize this as well, but Hayato beat them in asking about it.

"So, who was the other girl then?" he sounded confused. The other three nodded their heads in agreement.

"Oh Saya-san?" Hiro seemed a little surprised at the question. "That was Minami, Saya, Sayo-san's cousin." he smiled.

"B-but they..." Hyuga stumbled, looking at his hands in confusion.

"They..." Take kept his seriously eyes on Hiro as he, too, stumbled on his words.

"They look like..." Tsuchi looked over at the girls schools' track, expression just the same as Take and Hyuga.

"They're not twins?" Hayato finally got the question out. He sounded like he just couldn't believe it.

"Nope, just cousins." Hiro answered almost cheerfully.

"Maji kayo!?" Take, Tsuchi, and Hyuga breathed simultaneously.

Ryu finally turned his head to fully look at Misawa. "How is that?" he still sounded bored and uninterested.

Hiro turned his head to look at Ryu, the other four watching and listening. "I'm not sure exactly, but they're both born on the same day."

The other's jaws went slack and fell open, eyes widened as well. Ryu had a flash of confusion on his face, but it quickly faded away.

Apparently the guys were too shocked to even speak or utter a single syllable or phrase.

Hiro glanced at the clock on the girls school behind the guys. "Ah!" he gasped, snapping the out of their trance, but only halfway. "I gotta go."

Hiro returned his gaze to the guys and smiled. "See you!" and he was off.

Ryu followed Misawa with his eyes until he was past the schools. He looked back at the others and sighed. "Oi, Hayato." he called.

Hayato glanced at him with a questioning look. Ryu only tilted his head to the side, suggesting that they leave. Hayato nodded, still halfway shocked by what they had just learned.

"Ikou ze." he instructed, receiving only nods as answers.

Their whole walk to Café de Rovne was quiet. Once there, they kind of got distracted by other things and put it behind them. And it would stay behind them.

Until they met the same two girls again...

* * *

Well, I hope you didn't think of it as a cliffhanger, but it kind of is in a way... Oh well. Have no fear, I know, I hate them too, cliffies that is. But they're so much fun to write XD.


	3. Chapter 1

_Edit: I fixed some of the talking. With my fast typing fingers, I sometimes hit the tupid colon instead of the quotes..._

**_

* * *

_**

Chapter 1: An Odd Way Of Meeting

The Monday before valentine's day, Takeda Keita sat in the Zest Cantina, admiring the waitress dressed as a cowgirl. He had been watching her for a week already. One thing he noticed was that there was more than one girl working the same shift as her. There were three, including her, to be exact. They were part-timers. They took turns throughout the week.

Of course, knowing how his friends and classmates were when it came to women, he certainly tried to keep it from them. And it worked for a little over a week.

The day Hayato, the others, and their homeroom teacher, Yamaguchi Kumiko, followed Take to the coffee shop, they were pretty sneaky about it. Before they said anything, they watched the three girls chatting with Maki-chan from afar.

"You two don't have to work today, so why are you here?" Maki-chan asked from behind the counter while preparing their drinks.

"Oh, just visiting." the one with the ponytail answered with a playful grin.

"Mm-hmm." the one in the middle with long, straight black hair nodded her head.

"At least I can say that honestly…" the one closest to the guys, and Yamaguchi, mumbled in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

"Well, thank you Juri-chan, I appreciate that." Maki said while setting the girl's cup in front of her.

After the girl nodded her head once, Maki-chan turned her sights on the other two. "As for you two…"

The spectators were caught off guard by the irritated glare she sent at the two.

"Here's your order."

"Eheh…" the two let out the little sound while nodding their heads.

Maki-chan then sighed and continued working on her other customers. That was when the others began expressing their thoughts from behind Take.

"Are you in love?"

"yeah."

"She's pretty."

"yeah."

After hearing Yankumi's voice, Take's eyes widened a little and he turned his head behind him to see. "Why are you guys here?"

"Hey Take-chan," Tsuchi started, keeping his eyes on Maki-chan, then looked down at Take. "aren't you being a little cold?"

"You found a cute girl and didn't say a word to us?" Hyuga asked in a far off way while watching Maki-chan like the rest of the group.

Take looked at him in a 'are you kidding me' sort of way. "Like I would."

"Did you tell her your feelings?" Yankumi asked excitedly.

"Not yet."

"Her name?" Ryu asked.

"Mizushima, Maki-chan." Take smiled.

"You already asked her name?" Tsuchi blurted. Hayato looked down at Take with a shocked smile.

"That's good progress."

Hayato looked back over at Maki-chan with the smile still in tact.

"No, no. It's on her name tag." Take explained as he pointed.

The others lost their balance a little. Well, except for Ryu, who saw it coming. Hayato lightly hit Take's head.

Yankumi glanced at Take. "That's not good." she started, then returned her gaze to the girl, who was now standing in front of her friends again. "If you leave such a cute girl alone, somebody else will take her."

Maki-chan quickly left her friends to serve another customer.

"There's very stiff competition for a girl like that." Hayato commented.

"She is from Momo Girls High." Hyuga threw in.

"She's probably a refined princess." Tsuchi added.

"Yeah." Yankumi mumbled while her and the other three, not Ryu, nodded their heads in agreement.

"No."

Maki-chan turned around and found a man putting his cigarette ashes in his coffee cup. When she asked him not to do that, he got irritated and left in a huff.

"Her appearance and character are totally different." Hayato speculated in bewilderment.

"She seems to have a strong will." Ryu commented with a blank look.

"Yeah. I saw her save a girl from a pervert on the bus." Take informed with a smile. "I thought she was great."

A little boy who had fallen caught Maki-chan's eyes and she went over to him. He said he was okay when she asked and she told him he was strong.

Maki-chan's friends peered over at her from their barstools. The one with the ponytail smiled.

"Aw, you're so good with kids Maki-chan." she teased.

Maki-chan only glared at her. "Be quiet Kiri."

"You have a good eye for girls." Yankumi complimented Take with a smile.

"You think so?"

"Yeah."

Maki-chan had nothing to do for the moment, so she stood by the girls and chatted with them again.

"By the way Maki-chan," Juri started shyly. "Thanks for the other day again."

"Eh?" Maki blinked a couple times. "You mean, on the bus?"

Juri only nodded once in reply.

Kiri and the other girl threw their eyes toward their timid companion.

"What happened on the bus" asked the other girl curiously.

"Well…" Juri hesitated, looking down at her lap.

Maki leaned toward the girls a little. "A pervert tried to attack her." she explained in a hushed tone.

The other two's eyes widened and they looked at Juri in amazement.

"Good thing Maki-chan was there, huh Juri?" the other girl quickly gained a reassured expression.

"Mm." Juri nodded again, raised her head and took a sip of her cinnamon cappuccino.

The guys, plus Yankumi, had taken their seats at a table by the front door, in front of the window. And coincidentally heard their conversation.

"So that's the girl she saved from the pervert?" Yankumi inquired.

"Yeah." Take nodded his head.

Tsuchi took a glance at the girls. "She seems a little frail."

"But she's cute." Hyuga commented.

"She's the innocent type." Yankumi smirked at Hyuga.

"Not my type." Hayato mentioned and a sip of his drink with his eyes closed.

"Eh." Yankumi eyed Hayato suspiciously, but quickly closed them and took a sip of her drink as well.

"Her other friends are cute too." Hyuga mentioned with a smile.

Hayato and Tsuchi looked over again and nodded.

"The one with the ponytail seems spontaneous." Tsuchi observed verbally.

"Yeah, but I can't really tell what the other girl is like." Hyuga tilted his head sideways a little.

Hayato nodded then returned to his drink.

The three girls got up and stretched. The one with her hair down jumped a little in surprise. Her hand flew to her jean skirts' pocket and pulled out a berry pink flip phone. It was vibrating in her hand.

She flipped it open to see what the alert was.

Apparently it was an email because she studied the screen for a few minutes. After she flipped it shut she sighed.

"What's wrong Mitsu?" Kiri asked.

"Get this," she started, sounding a little irritated and sarcastic. "Saya and Sayo are just leaving the school now."

"Figures." Kiri scoffed.

"At least they're earlier than usual." Juri pointed out.

"That's true…" Mitsu trailed off.

"Maybe Minami-sensei let them go early." Maki proposed.

The guys, mainly Hayato and Ryu, had puzzled looks on their faces. Why did those names sound so familiar?

They shrugged it off and went back to watching Maki-chan, who had some more work to do.

After about five minutes, a few groups of customers left, the three girls sat back down at the bar, and Take was staring.

"Come on, say something to her." Tsuchi told Take from across the table.

"I can't." Take replied immediately.

"Nothing's going to start by just looking at her." Ryu said.

This started up Yankumi. "Takeda," she held up her fist in front of her. "your fighting spirit! Fighting spirit!" she chanted.

Take glanced at Maki for a moment then sharply turned his gaze in Tsuchi's direction. "Tsuchi, please" he pleaded.

"Huh?" Tsuchi lowered his fan a little. When Take made the puppy eyes, he gave in. "Can't help it."

Yankumi looked absolutely astounded as Take while Tsuchi stood up from his seat to stand by the stairs.

"What happened to your fighting spirit!?" she whispered in disbelief.

"Because…" Take only put his mouth on the two pink straws and sipped his drink.

"Maki-chan." Tsuchi called once he was comfortable.

She looked up at him from the dishes she had gathered from the empty tables. "Yes."

"This Takeda Keita from Kurogin High's class 3-D." Tsuchi pointed to Take with his fan. Take stood up abruptly after his name was said. "Yoroshiku." Tsuchi shuts his fan and then Yankumi stood up.

"I'm his homeroom teacher, Yamaguchi Kumiko." she introduced herself happily.

"You have nothing to do with this." Ryu shot down her mood, Hayato watching said homeroom teacher from beside Ryu, who isn't looking at her.

She sits down immediately. "Yes."

Take nods his head timidly. "Hello."

"Hello." Maki-chan smiles then grabs the large amount of ceramic and glass cups and plates. She begins to make her way behind the bar.

Take whispers to Tsuchi pleadingly, "Ask her for her type."

"What?" Tsuchi breathes. Take just puts his hands in front of him, pleading some more. "Okay." Tsuchi gave in again.

Tsuchi clears his throat before speaking. "Hey, Maki-chan," she looked up at him and stopped moving. "What type of guys do you like?"

"Type?" she repeated then thought for a few seconds. "I like strong guys and I hate weak guys." And she left to go put away the dishes in the back to be washed.

Hyuga and Hayato, hearing that, began thinking that they were her type, and got excited. The they started watching poor Take, who quietly left the shop.

The girls had overheard the conversation, seeing as the two groups were the only ones there right at the moment.

"That was a little harsh Maki-chan." Juri commented.

"Well, it's the truth., what should I have said?" Maki stated while unloading her tray of dishes.

Just outside the shop, two girls passed by the semi-depressed Take. They just shrugged off his sad look and continued into the establishment. When the doors opened, Maki-chan instinctively called out from the back.

"Welcome."

"Yo!" one called excitedly.

"Maki-chan!" the other followed.

Both groups turned their heads towards the door to see who it was.

And the guys looked on in puzzlement. The girls, however, sprung to their feet as their faces lit up.

"Saya! Sayo!"

"It's about time you two got here!" Mitsu chastised with her hands on her hips and a playful yet irritated look.

Saya, the one on the left with layered dark brown hair, was smirking. She had on a dark pink, short sleeved hoodie, slightly fancy jeans, and a pair of low top canvas sneakers, decorated with square pigs, clouds and hearts in black and red, with a white background.

Sayo, the one on the right also has dark brown hair, only less layers, was smiling. She had on a long sleeve black shirt, camouflage cargo pants, and black canvas sneakers with painted on bloodstains and skulls with crossbones.

After a few seconds, the two made their way to the girls, not noticing the guys at all.

"So what were you saying?" Saya asked curiously.

"What was a little harsh?" Sayo inquired.

"The way you broke poor Misawa-kun's heart and stabbed his manly pride by breaking up with him." Kiri explained dramatically and a little playfully as well.

Sayo was not amused obviously. Her brows furrowed, eyes squinted, and her lips formed a frown. She poked Kiri on her side, causing her to squirm and yelp.

"I did NOT break his heart." she said calmly. " We mutually agreed to being friends."

"But isn't it hard to go back to being just friends after you dated?" Mitsu inquired, thinking of a few times she told her exs they were still friends, but they never talked after that.

"Honestly," Saya started, a thoughtful look playing her face. "They never really advanced too far."

The girls shot their bewildered eyes to Sayo, and the guys listened in out of curiosity. Sayo nodded her head. "Yeah. He was really shy so we only ever held hands."

The guys' eyes widened in shock. They dated for four months and only held hands!? This news caused them to gaze at the one who had said this. Of course, right now, they could only see her backside.

Sayo felt the eyes on her back. She sighed and closed her eyes. Saya noticed Sayo's slight change and then felt it too. The eyes, though it was a lot fainter to her.

Saya side glanced in the direction the eyes were coming from and saw the guys.

Her eyes widened a tad at the sight of them.

Sayo noticed Saya's eyes and decided to look as well. But she didn't try hard enough to look back secretively. She made it seem like she was looking at Saya fully, but her eyes betrayed her as well as her keen memory.

When her eyes landed on Hayato and Ryu, her eyes widened just a little at her remembrance of about a month ago. All the way back to her most recent break up.

Then, her eyes got bigger when she saw Yankumi. She was only lucky enough that her mouth nor voice didn't betray her.

"Ne, Sayo-chan." Kiri beckoned.

Sayo blinked a couple times and turned back to her friends. "Hm?"

"Are you serious!?" Mitsu had this look of extreme surprise and disbelief on her face. "Four months and you only held hands!?"

"That's a little unbelievable." Maki added from the back, which she was emerging from now.

"Well it's the truth." Sayo closed her eyes to calm herself. She was honestly surprised her voice was still calm.

Saya used her hand to motion the girls to come in closer for privacy. When they huddled, she asked, "Hey, have you seen those guys!?" with a smile.

Juri and Maki nodded their heads. "What about them?"

"Aren't they from Kurogin across the street?"

"Yeah, the one with the fan said so earlier." Mitsu answered. "Why?"

"No reason, just a speculation." Saya shook her head.

"Misawa-kun was from Kurogin High right?" Juri tried to remember but didn't want to be wrong.

Sayo only nodded her head. "Did the woman mention her name?"

The girls looked thoughtful for a few seconds. The guys were trying to eavesdrop, but their voices were too faint. They couldn't make out the conversation.

Ryu only frowned and shook his head at their behavior.

"Yeah." Maki answered after brainstorming.

"What was it?"

"I think she said Yamaguchi Kumiko." Maki looked thoughtful again.

Sayo sighed and looked at the floor. "I thought so." she whispered.

"Do you really think it's her Sayo?" Saya questioned with hope.

"There is a possibility."

"What, do you know that woman?" Kiri inquired curiously.

"Maybe." Saya and Sayo answered in unison.

"…Creepy." Hyuga, Hayato, and Tsuchi could hear that answer.

Yankumi nodded her head, then thought for a few minutes.

The girls had said 'Minami-sensei'. And the two girls who seemed so similar in appearance, their names were Saya and Sayo. The same as the two she knew thirteen years ago.

She decided to confront her suspicions.

Abruptly, Yankumi stood from her chair, bag in hand, and made her way to the girls.

"Hey!" Hayato whispered harshly.

"What are you-" Tsuchi stopped speaking as he saw the girls all turning their attention to Yankumi.

Saya and Sayo finally turned fully toward the guys. Hayato and Ryu immediately recognized the two, and their eyes grew wide.

"Excuse me," Yankumi started in a friendly way. "But are your names Tsukioka, Sayo and Minami, Saya by any chance?"

"Hi there, Kumiko-sempai." Sayo greeted after hearing her name come out of the older woman's mouth. "It's been a long time."

"It certainly has, Kumiko-sempai." Saya added with a wide smile.

The others were now thoroughly confused with what was happening before them.

"It is you two after all!" Yankumi smiled widely as well.

They only nodded their heads.

"You know those guys' teacher?" Kiri asked in confusion.

"Yeah." Saya answered without looking back at Kiri.

"I used to live in the same area." Sayo informed.

"And my mom went to college with her." Saya added.

"That's right." Yankumi confirmed.

"Wow, that's amazing." Juri breathed.

"Yeah no kidding." Mitsu agreed.

"Oh!" Yankumi realized she had left her students from the conversation. "These are some of my current students." she gestured back towards Hayato, Ryu, Hyuga, and Tsuchi.

Hyuga and Tsuchi stood first, then made their way towards them.

"Tuschiya, Hikaru desu. Yoroshiku."

"Hyuga, Kousuke desu."

Then Hayato stood and joined the other two. "Ore wa Yabuki, Hayato."

The girls only nodded their heads at the greetings. The others looked directly at Ryu with curiosity. Sayo was the only one who didn't look directly nor curiously. Instead, she eyed him carefully, as if she was studying him.

He then slowly arose from his seat and made his way over to them with his hands in his pants pockets.

"Odagiri Ryu." he stated blankly without blinking or moving his head.

The girls nodded once again and turned their attention back to Yankumi.

"So," Yankumi started with a smile, "What's Ayumi up to now?"

"Oh, she's teaching music class at our school." Saya answered smiling.

"Coincidence huh?" Sayo chuckled, smiling again.

The guys had all noticed how she looked at Ryu a few seconds ago and found the quick change odd. But they quickly let it go.

"Maji!?" Yankumi's eyes widened with the news. "It's a small world…" she whispered.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Saya chuckled.

"I guess I'll have to visit her and Kujo-sensei too..." Yankumi mumbled thoughtfully.

"Eh? You know Kujo-sensei?" Kiri questioned with curious eyes.

"Yes. He's so wonderful." Yankumi had stars in her eyes and spoke in a dreamy voice.

"Stop that Yamaguchi." Hayato told her in an irritated tone.

"By the way," Yankumi quickly reverted to normal and ignored Hayato tactfully. "What are you girls' names?"

She directed the question to the other three she didn't yet know.

"Oh, how rude of us." Juri realized their fault. "Kitano, Juri desu. Hajimemashite." she stated sweetly with her innocent smile.

"Jinnai Kiri desu. Yoroshiku." Kiri winked in the process.

"Watashi wa Hasegawa, Mitsu desu." Mitsu smiled.

The guys nodded at the introductions as the girls had.

"So Kumiko-sempai," Sayo started, returning her attention to Yankumi, who had shifted her eyes to Sayo again. "Do you still live in the same place?"

Yankumi looked a tad surprised by the question and the guys suddenly got very interested in the conversation. "Why wouldn't I still live in the same place?"

"I don't know…" Sayo looked up thoughtfully, with a hint of playfulness. "Independence, boyfriend, fiancé, because of work, some other reason you can come up with."

"Dang Sayo…" Saya breathed with a smile.

"No, I don't have any of those reasons." Yankumi hissed dangerously.

The guys looked at her, a little shocked. Then they were even more shocked by the fact that Sayo and Saya weren't affected by the tone of Yankumi's voice. Ryu found this intriguing.

"You've always had nerve and guts." Yankumi complimented suddenly, catching the other off guard. "That's what made you my superior student back then." A smile appeared on the older woman's face.

Sayo smiled as well. "Thank you, Kumiko-sempai."

Hyuga abruptly sighed, causing everyone to look at him oddly. "You have a beautiful smile."

Sayo blinked a couple times. "Um… thank you?"

Saya glanced over at the clock and her eyes grew wide. "Crap…" she mumbled.

Sayo only side glanced at Saya, saw her eyes, and glanced over at the clock as well.

"Not good…" she mumbled with wide eyes as well.

"Oh, you two are gonna get in trouble if you don't hurry." Kiri teased.

Saya shot her an irritated glance but knew she was right. They needed to leave soon.

"Hush Kiri, they know that." Maki chastised with an irritated look.

"Sorry Kumiko-sempai, but we need to leave." Saya was apologetic.

Yankumi only shook her head. "I do wish we could continue our conversation."

"We'll visit soon, I promise." Sayo mentioned. "I'll make sure to call before we come."

"All right, I'll look forward to it." Before Sayo walked away, Yankumi leaned in and whispered, I'll tell everyone about it too so they aren't surprised."

Sayo only nodded her head in agreement and the two girls took off.

Last to arrive, first to leave they were.

And Kumiko looked forward to their visit.

* * *

Hope you liked it. I really probably put a little diversity on who was in it but oh well, I like it the way it is. ^^


	4. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: this little KAT-TUN obsessed girl does not own the concept or actors of this totally awesome school drama.

AN: This chapter is kind of how I wanted it and yet not quite how I wanted it so yeah. Hope you enjoy reading it, chapter three will be a lot better.

**Chapter 2: But It Was A Total Misunderstanding!**

**

* * *

**

After Take fought for Maki, she rewarded him with chocolate. And Kumiko gave her chocolate to Kujo-sensei. Of course, the whole class teased her about it, and got chased as a consequence.

Two days after, Kumiko decided to visit her old friend, Minami Ayumi. She figured she'd go after school instead of on her planning period. So, Kumiko had an excited look on her face at the end of school today.

"What's up with her?" Take wondered aloud.

"Maybe she actually has a date." Hyuga joked. Kumiko's eyebrow twitched a bit hearing that remark.

"Who knows. She's always excited about something." Hayato drawled with his eyes closed and arms behind his head.

"Wanna go visit Maki-chan today Take?" Tsuchi proposed, fanning himself.

"Sure." Take nodded.

And the five of them took off.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kumiko made her way across the street to Momo Girls High.

Once inside, she asked a student where the music room was, and got pointed in the direction. She nodded a thanks to the girl who helped her and took off again.

"Ah. Here it is." she whispered to no one.

She slowly reached for the door, but froze when she heard voices.

"All right girls, you ready?" one voice asked. It was a bit deeper, more than likely it was Ayumi.

"Yep!" two other voices answered in unison. Definitely Saya and Sayo.

Kumiko sighed at her own skittishness. It was just the three of them, which she expected to be there in the first place.

She continued to reach for the door, faster this time. Her fingers landed on the handle and she slid it open.

"Welcome." the owner of the deeper voice, Ayumi, called absently as she heard the door sliding open.

"Yo." Kumiko greeted. "It's been a while, Ayumi-chan."

Hearing that, said older woman, Ayumi, spun around and grinned at the sight before her. She'd recognize those pigtails and glasses anywhere.

"Kumi-chan!"

"Hey Kumiko-sempai." Saya and Sayo greeted in unison next to Ayumi.

Kumiko and Ayumi met half way across the room and hugged.

"You know," Ayumi started as they parted. "it's been way too long."

Kumiko nodded.

"Is it okay for us to leave and you two catch up mom?" Saya asked with a knowing smile.

"Sure girls, go right ahead." Ayumi answered, smiling at them brightly.

"Thanks! See you later mom!" Saya called as she and Sayo grabbed their things.

"See you again Kumiko-sempai!" they both called back in unison again as they ran out the door and down the hall.

Kumiko shook her head at the two, but was still smiling. Ayumi turned her head back to Kumiko with a smile as well. They sat down in the student chairs, though it was quite uncomfortable. "So, how've you been?"

That started their long conversation about how they had been doing since they graduated, about Saya and Sayo, about the other girls who were always with the two, about the guys in 3-D, about Kumiko's first class, and about the Kumi.

* * *

Not long after that, the girls and the guys were traveling together. Maki had gone home because she was tired. The girls were walking a bit ahead of the guys, so it didn't really look like they were together as a group. Because of that, a group of three guys from another school approached the girls.

"Hey, hey, look what we've got here." one with bad hair and small eyes smirked devilishly at the girls.

The guys had stopped walking, watching the guys to see if they had to step in or not. The girls had been abruptly stopped, and had become defensive.

"Kawaii Momojo chans eh?" the better looking of the three smiled at them mischievously.

"Yeah." the other guy said, bending down in front Saya, smiling.

The guys kept watching defensively. While the other guys made passes at the girls, they found their anger growing, as odd as that was.

Saya furrowed her eyebrows and leaned back away from the guy a little, because he was uncomfortably close to her face. Sayo furrowed her eyebrows and closed her eyes to keep herself as calm as she possibly could. Juri cowered behind the other girls. Kiri already looked irritated by the guys' attitude. Mitsu was eyeing them cautiously while helping shield Juri.

"Say," the guy who started the conversation bent down in front of Kiri. "you wanna hang out with us?"

Kiri and Saya stayed quiet. Mitsu now gazed at the group of three with disgust, still shielding Juri. Sayo opened her eyes to find the leader of the three staring her in the face, just inches away. Juri saw the distance between the two of them and her eyes widened as her worries grew.

"Well, what do you say, Kawaii-chan?" the guy asked Sayo with a mischievous look.

She only narrowed her eyes.

Just before Ryu was going to say something to the group of three, Sayo surprised all the guys with her retaliation.

"Piss off."

They all looked shocked by her words. Ryu and Hayato blinked a couple times.

"Heh." the leader smirked after a few seconds. "You've got some nerve." his smirk grew wider. "I like it."

Sayo only intensified her glare as he tried to get closer to her face.

The three guys from the other school hadn't noticed Hayato and the others yet. As soon as Hayato regained himself, he motioned for the guys to follow.

The leader smirked a smirk of self satisfaction as he brought his hand to Sayo's cheek. Sayo flinched a little at his touch. Saya eyed the guy with a shocked expression.

Juri murmured to Mitsu, "That's not good…" she seemed even more worried about that move he made instead of their safety.

Hayato and the others were almost up to the girls, but stopped abruptly again. The sound of a fist connecting to a cheek resounded in their ears. Their eyes widened again at the sight before them.

Sayo had socked the guy right on his cheek, leaving a big red mark in it's place.

The leader was about to say something, but Hayato and the others made their way next to the girls finally.

"Something wrong?" Hayato directed his question towards Saya.

Ryu looked at the pissed off glare that remained on Sayo's face.

"These guys." Kiri answered, sounding disgusted by just mentioning the three.

"Really?" Hyuga looked at the three in question.

"Come on, you saw it!" Kiri complained, the guy who was in her face had backed up when Sayo punched the leader of his group, same for the other guy. "They were hitting on us and you were standing behind us the whole time!"

"Is there a problem here?" Ryu asked the guys in a dangerous tone.

"Eh?" the one with the bad hair started, standing next to the wounded leader. "So, Momo girls with Kurogin guys?"

"Keh. Figures." the other guy scoffed, looking irritated at the situation.

"Too bad." the leader smiled roguishly. "I really like you and your attitude." he looked straight at Sayo.

"Yeah, too bad." she mocked him, smile and all. "I really wanted to hit you a few more times for touching me." her tone got darker as she spoke.

Ryu moved in front of Sayo, seemingly trying to guard her. Sayo kept her eyes on the idiot who touched her and paid no mind to the now protective Ryu in front of her.

"Keh. Another time then." the leader said as her turned around to leave. "Let's go."

And the three guys left.

Juri sighed in relief and came out from behind Mitsu. Mitsu sighed as well. Kiri shook her head as she watched them leave. Saya sighed loudly.

"Hey," she started, turning her head to look at Sayo. "nice going."

Hayato, Hyuga, Tsuchi, and Take all sighed at the same time. Ryu turned to Sayo as well.

"What were you thinking?" he asked her seriously.

Sayo only shifted her eyes to him but didn't answer him. After they all stood there silently, waiting for her to answer, while she gazed at him with an irritated expression on her face, she moved her eyes away from him. And began to walk away. The girls followed her.

"You know," Tsuchi called to them before they got too far. "You princesses shouldn't try to pick fights with guys like that."

They stopped in their tracks. Mitsu, Kiri, and Juri turned around to face them. Saya watched Sayo with a concerned mask covering her features. Sayo was getting even more irritated than before.

"Huh?" Juri inquired innocently, a confused look playing her cute features.

"What Tsuchi means is, you shouldn't have provoked those guys earlier." Take explained cutely.

"But…" Juri looked even more confused.

"He provoked us first!" Saya yelled before Sayo did, defensively, with her back still facing the guys.

"Yeah, but even so…" Hyuga mumbled.

"You shouldn't have returned the favor." Hayato commented.

"He asked for it!!" Sayo finally yelled, her body trembling slightly with her anger.

"Even so…" Take started, but didn't continue.

"What did you mean by princesses?" Mitsu asked, changing the topic.

"You're all well off in the money department right?" Hyuga shrugged.

"For your information," Kiri started, now irritated by what Hyuga said. "My parents are barely scraping by."

Hyuga, take, and Tsuchi looked somewhat surprised.

"Yeah, both my parents are employed. Big deal." she scoffed. "But they aren't paid enough for how hard they work."

"I have an older sister who my parents are trying to help with college tuition." Juri started calmly. "I also have a younger sister who my parents have to pay school fees for on top of mine."

"I'm the only one who's well off." Mitsu started, irritated by their assumptions as well. "My father makes enough so my mother doesn't have to work. We live in a large house and my older brother is actually paying for college on his own. Without my parents help."

"What about Saya and Sayo?" Take was now curious.

"I don't wish to tell you." Sayo was still very irritated, they could tell by her tone.

"I don't wanna say either." Saya told them calmly. "I don't know you well enough to say something so personal yet."

The girls then turned around and left the guys standing there.

"I didn't think they all had it rough…" Tsuchi mumbled, feeling a little remorseful for saying such a thing.

"This may not be good." Ryu commented out of nowhere.

The guys looked at him confusedly.

* * *

A few days went by. The girls were avoiding them at all costs. Hyuga got a mysterious new job and Yankumi was all hyped up about them thinking about their futures. It was tiring.

This day, Yankumi made them participate in individual interviews with her. The guys skipped out on it. Hayato claimed they were too bothersome.

After school, Shiratori-sensei asked Yankumi to go drinking with her. Of course, once Hitomi mentioned Kujo-sensei, Kumiko was all about going. And Baba-sensei joined them.

While the guys were out, without Hyuga, they ran into the Kiri, Juri, Mitsu, and Maki.

"Hey, Maki-chan!" Take called, waving a hand over his head.

Maki and the girls turned around. There was no escaping them this time. The guys quickened their pace to catch up to them.

"Hey, um…" Tsuchi started nervously. "We're sorry about what we said last time."

"It's okay." Kiri shook her head with a smile. Maki seemed a tad bit confused.

"We were a little irritated then." Mitsu added.

"We know you guys didn't know about our situations." Juri finished sweetly.

"Hey, why don't we go eat?" Maki proposed, ignoring her urge to ask what they were talking about.

"What do you say Hayato?" take asked, turning to look at said leader.

Ryu shrugged.

"Sure, got nothing better to do." Hayato answered in a laid back fashion.

The two groups entered the closest family restaurant and took up a booth.

After about ten minutes of talk, Ryu asked a question no one thought he would ask.

"Where's Saya-chan and Sayo-chan?"

It had just dawned on the rest of the guys. They seemed surprised.

"Yeah, that's right." Take mumbled.

"They're not here…" Hayato murmured.

"They're probably still at school." Mitsu mentioned, sounding a little vexed.

"What, do they have after school activities or something?" Tsuchi looked sarcastic.

"Not really." Maki chuckled.

"Though they did earlier this year…" Juri mumbled thoughtfully.

"Oh?" Take was now curious.

"Saya wouldn't get fed if she didn't stay after." Kiri said in a joking manner.

"Eh?" Hayato was curiously confused.

"It's a joke." Kiri smiled.

"Why do they stay after then?" Ryu asked in a bored tone.

"Our music teacher is Saya's mom." Juri informed.

"Eh!?" Hayato, Take and Tsuchi were super shocked.

"And Sayo's aunt." Mitsu added.

"They stay after to help Minami-sensei clean up and practice singing." Maki closed her menu and her full attention was now on the conversation.

After that, the waitress came up to them and they ordered drinks.

"Where's Hyuga-san?" Mitsu asked after the waitress left.

"He's working." Hayato answered.

"I see." Mitsu let it go seeing the look that was on their faces.

Ryu looked out the window and his eyes widened a little. Hayato noticed this and followed his gaze. His eyes widened as well.

"Hey, isn't that Saya-chan and Sayo-chan over there?" Hayato asked, not looking away, pointing so the others knew where to look.

"Ah!" Mitsu's eyes widened too.

"It is them!" Maki gasped.

"Wow, what a guy!" Kiri breathed dreamily.

"Who is he though?" Juri inquired of the others.

"Not sure." Mitsu answered.

They all watched the two girls stroll down the street arm-in-arm with a guy who looked to be in college. There, across the street from the restaurant they were in, with Saya and Sayo, stood a man with short spiky brown hair and brown eyes. His appearance was somewhat rugged and daring, as if he was a former rebel or something. The girls were laughing and hanging on the guy.

Saya had on short black shorts, a long sleeved shirt with a turtle neck and blue-green plaid corset-like material from the chest down, and knee-high black boots. (.com/albums/ww185/KameLuvr9/?action=view¤t=)

Sayo had on a half sleeved hoodie, a racerback tee under it, khaki long shorts, and white heels that her toes peeped out of. (.com/albums/ww185/KameLuvr9/?action=view¤t=)

The guys could tell plainly which was which this time. Saya had left her hair down while Sayo had her bangs framing her face and the rest in an up do with a clip.

Just before the three of them were too far away for them to tell what was going on, Sayo took out her cell phone and called someone.

Then they were gone.

Though the rest of them thought what they had just witnessed was weird, they shrugged it off and continued with a different conversation.

* * *

After the groups parted ways, Ryu and Hayato were wandering around, wasting time. And found Minoru in a drunken state.

Yankumi "ran" into Tetsu while drinking with the other teachers. Tetsu had actually followed her there. He was actually the topic of their conversation that night, though he didn't know it. On their way home, Yankumi and Tetsu ran into Hyuga and his boss. The two were busy, so the conversation didn't last long and they were on their way home again.

With Minoru extremely wasted, Hayato and Ryu helped him back home.

When they arrived, Minoru plopped down on the step in the entrance, slurring, "I'm home."

Wakamatsu and Sugawara came to see the commotion, since the boss was busy already.

"Minoru!" Sugawara bellowed as he bent over, lifting Minoru by his shoulder. "What have you been doing?" he smacked him on the back of his head.

"What is it, Suga-chan?" Minoru slurred then fell back down again.

Wakamatsu fixed his collar and bent down to the boys' level. "Thank you for bringing him home." Sugawara followed.

"Not at all…" Ryu nodded, an uncertain look on his face.

"No problem…" Hayato added, the same look present of his features as well.

"Sugawara." Wakamatsu started, standing back up straight.

"Yes."

"Please bring them a thank-you gift." Wakamatsu ordered, as Sugawara stood up straight as well. Wakamatsu held his hand out to the two nervous boys.

"Yes."

"No, we're fine." Hayato interjected quickly, before Sugawara left the room.

"We'll be leaving now." Ryu added.

They began to turn and leave but Wakamatsu stopped them.

"It wouldn't be right to let you go. Please, come in."

They reluctantly gave in and turned around seconds before the door opened. A female voice rang through it.

"I'm home."

"Welcome home." the two older men bowed the yakuza way as Yankumi made her way into the home.

She took a quick glance at the two. "Oh, you guys are here."

Hayato and Ryu both stared at her in disbelief. She kept going.

"Don't be shy. Come on in." It was a clear thing that she wasn't paying that close attention to who was there. She got a few steps into the house and realized it. She spun around sharply. "Why are you guys here?"

Next thing they know, they're all sitting at the table, including Kumiko's grandfather, in silence.

Hayato leaned over to Yankumi and whispered, "You're supposed to be the beautiful Ojou?"

"Yes." she answered.

Tetsu smacked on the head. "You idiot. This is all your fault."

"I'm sorry." Minoru mumbled.

"I'm sure you're surprised seeing such thugs here." Yankumi tried to cover up, after a few seconds of silence.

This led to Ryu asking about the family. Of course, Kumiko tried to cover it up but failed miserably. Kuroda asked them to keep it a secret, and the boys respected the wish. If she was gone, school wouldn't be fun anymore.

"You guys…" Kumiko got up and ruffled their hair. "really are my students."

After Wakamatsu made an odd attempt to start drinking, Kuroda asked the two to take care of Kumiko. The others followed and bowed, making them feel even more uncomfortable. Kumiko smiled at them.

"Please take care of Kumiko-sempai!"

Kumiko, Tetsu, Minoru, Ryu, and Hayato were surprised to hear two young female voices from behind them.

"Ah!" Tetsu and Minoru saw the two standing behind Kumiko, Hayato ,and Ryu.

Kumiko spun around faster than the two boys. Her eyes widened in surprise and a smile spread across her face when her sight landed on Saya and Sayo. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming over today?"

"We wanted to surprise you." Saya smiled.

"Though we weren't expecting to see those two here…" Sayo mentioned in a low voice, but was still heard.

"I wasn't expecting them either." Kumiko laughed.

By now, Hayato and Ryu had turned around to face the two girls. As expected, they were still in the same outfits as they had seen them in earlier. But then again, why wouldn't they be?

The girls smiled and sat down next to Ryu, at the opposite end of the table from Kuroda.

Kumiko looked at her grandfather as the four men asked the two girls questions. "How long have they been here for?"

"For a few hours now." he answered calmly, his arms still folded across his chest. "They wanted to catch up with me while waiting for you."

"I see." Kumiko nodded her head and her attention turned back to the girls.

After Ryu and Hayato sat silently listening to everything, Hayato had to ask about the guy they saw the girls with earlier. It was eating at him, his curiosity. Tetsu was laughing lightly at something Saya had said and Hayato took his chance.

"Say," he started nervously, as all eyes rested on him. "We saw you two with an older guy earlier today." he looked up to see their reactions. "Who was he?"

"Eh?" Saya looked a little confused.

"It was a guy with spiky brown hair." Hayato described, though it wasn't the best in the world. "He looked like a college student."

With that, Kumiko squealed before Saya or Sayo answered. "Could it be a boyfriend?"

"Me with a college student!?" Saya was sarcastic. "Only in my dreams."

"I know what you're talking about." Sayo answered in a calm tone. "You saw us with Takeshi earlier…" she mumbled.

"Oh yeah." Saya had remembered now. "We were with him before we came here…" she trailed off.

"Who is this Takeshi Sayo-chan?" Kumiko asked suggestively.

"Relax." Sayo smiled at Kumiko's behavior and rolled her eyes. "He's a cousin of mine on my dad's side, Noda Takeshi."

"EH!?" Kumiko looked genuinely shocked. The rest of the guys were just watching the interaction.

"What is it?" Saya asked curiously, because of Kumiko's reaction.

"You're actually related to Noda!?" Kumiko asked, bewildered by the possibility.

"Yeah." Sayo nodded, a smirk of amusement on her face.

"Did he go to Shirokin Gakuen?" Kumiko asked again.

"Yeah." Saya answered this time. "Why?"

"Because," Kumiko sighed, relaxing now. "He was one of my first real students."

"Really!?" Saya gasped.

"Wow." Sayo breathed with a smile.

"How are you related to him?" Kumiko questioned, now curious of exactly how the two were related.

"My dad's sister is his mother." Sayo explained.

"That explains it." Kumiko chuckled.

"Explains what?" Hayato inquired out of nowhere.

"Mm." Kumiko only shook her head.

"Whatever…" Hayato muttered.

Kuroda and the others had left for business matters. Kumiko told them she was going to be grading a few papers, so she couldn't quite chat. Saya and Sayo understood and told Kumiko that they wanted to talk to the boys in private anyway. So Kumiko left the room.

Sayo moved herself to the porch and watched the garden with her back to the others. She was still listening though.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Hayato directed this towards Saya.

"We're sorry for how we acted last time." Saya lowered her head a little.

Though they couldn't see, Sayo had shifted her eyes to her lap.

Ryu eyed Sayo's back intently. Hayato nor Saya noticed this though. Sayo could feel his gaze on her back, like fire, and suddenly became uncomfortable with it.

"Why?" she whispered to herself. It was inaudible to the others.

"It's no big deal really." Hayato told Saya as a response to her apology.

Saya met his eyes after hearing that. She blinked a few times in question.

"But I was just wondering why Sayo-chan got so worked up about that guy touching her."

"Oh. That." Saya glanced at Sayo and noticed the discomfort on her face. Then she saw the cause and decided to explain. Cause let's face it, Sayo sure wasn't going to. "Kumiko-sempai, when Sayo was about six years old, saved Sayo from a group of thugs."

Hayato was surprised by this news and he looked at Sayo's back.

"After that, Kumiko-sempai taught her to defend herself. And I came into the picture about a year later." Saya finished.

"I see." Hayato had returned his eyes to Saya, who was smiling lightly.

"It's a sensitive subject."

Hayato nodded his head in understanding.

Out of nowhere, Ryu got up from his spot and sat down next to Sayo on the porch, admiring the garden.

Sayo eyed him out of the corner of her eyes. "What is it?" she asked in a low voice.

"Betsu ni." was his monotonous reply.

Sayo blinked, moving her eyes to her lap again. "…" she wanted to say something but couldn't find any words. She blinked again and rested her eyes on the single blossom in front of her.

Kumiko saw this from the room she was in and couldn't help but let out her squeal. "Aw~!"

Sayo's eyes widened and she jumped, due to being startled by sudden outburst of said Kumiko. Ryu only blinked once then tried to find her. Sayo spotted Kumiko's mischievous face and began blushing furiously.

How embarrassing.

Hayato and Saya looked at the two in confusion.

Sayo closed her eyes, inhaled, and stood up. Exhaling, she turned around and walked out of the room.

"Ah! Sayo!" Saya called after her, but it was no use.

Ryu spotted Kumiko and shook his head. After, he stood up and sat back down where he was before. Next to Hayato.

"What was that?" Hayato inquired after Ryu sat down and was slightly comfortable.

"Yamaguchi making stupid assumptions."

"Heh. Yeah, she does that." Saya chuckled a little. "Sayo'll let her have it now, I'm sure." she looked behind her where Sayo had gone.

"What's wrong Sayo-chan?" Kumiko smiled brightly at the beet red Sayo, who just walked into the room, trying not to laugh.

"Your head…" Sayo uttered, shaking from her embarrassment and irritation.

"Oh come on." Kumiko chuckled a little. "I couldn't help myself. You two looked so cute."

Sayo tensed a little as Kumiko continued to grade the papers.

"Besides," she started. "That was my payback for Valentine's day…" she muttered darkly as she penned down the grade of the paper below her pen. It just happened to be Hayato's.

Sayo was immediately curious. Perhaps she had missed something then. "What happened?"

"They made fun of me, so I'm getting him back for the whole class." Kumiko explained, seemingly irritated by the mere memory of it, and totally oblivious to Sayo's sudden mood change. "Though it would've been better if it were Yabuki instead of Odagiri." she added.

Sayo blinked a few times then sighed. "You didn't have to drag me into it…" she muttered, avoiding looking at Kumiko.

Just remembering her very own reaction to Kumiko's outburst made her blush.

"Judging by the way you reacted," Kumiko looked thoughtful and Sayo's head snapped in her direction, fearing what was coming next. "I'd almost think that you like him."

Sayo's eye twitched as her blush got worse. Her face had become so hot, she felt she might pass out, but tried to ignore it. "Eh?"

"Come to think of it, I heard you mention when you were younger that you wanted a good looking guy who could fight as your boyfriend." Kumiko was thoughtful again. Sayo's fear grew immensely. "I'd say Odagiri fits that description pretty well…" she looked at Sayo, who was worse than a tomato, heading towards a cherry. "Or maybe even Yabuki." she added.

"Eh!?"

"Say, do you like Odagiri, Sayo-chan?"

"Maybe he and I could be friends…" Sayo tried to ignore the implication. And eye contact with Kumiko.

"I know that." Kumiko smiled. "I mean, do you have any special feelings for him?"

"I hardly even know him…" Sayo tried to get away from the question. Hell, she wanted away from the whole subject, conversation even. Her voice was a little louder than she had wanted.

"Come on Sayo-chan." Kumiko now had a knowing smile on her face. "Do you?"

"…" Sayo gulped nervously as Kumiko stared at her intently. She was not going to answer the question. No way, no how.

"I can tell you do." Kumiko taunted.

Sayo knew it was a weakness when your enemy could easily provoke you into anger with taunting, but she couldn't help it. "I do NOT!" she yelled. "I'm leaving. Tell Oji-chan I said bye." she turned tail and sped out.

The whole house heard Sayo.

Saya blinked in surprise and confusion. "What was that…" she wondered aloud.

Sayo then came out of the hallway she had gone into earlier, and was so red in the face it wasn't funny.

"What-" Saya tried to start, but she was quickly cut off.

"I'm going home." And she was out the door.

Kumiko came back into the living room, though too late to stop her. She looked down at Saya questioningly.

"She left." was all Saya needed to say.

Kumiko nodded. "Can you come with me for a second Saya-chan?"

Saya nodded her head, and the boys stood at the same time.

"We're gonna go too." Hayato informed.

"Yeah."

"All right." Kumiko smiled. "See you at school tomorrow."

They turned around and waved, but continued walking.

"Don't be late!" she called after them.

The sound of the front door sliding open and closing a few seconds after signaled that they were gone. Saya peeked around the corner just to be sure. She gave Kumiko a thumbs up.

"What happened?" Saya was curious. "I've never seen Sayo that red in my life."

"I only asked her if she liked Odagiri…" Kumiko trailed off.

"Oh." Saya looked at the floor. "That explains it."

"Will you go make sure she isn't doing something rash?" Kumiko was now worried.

"Yeah, I will." Saya nodded. "See you later, Kumiko-sempai." And she left too.

Man, what an eventful night…

* * *

Well, that's chapter 2. Hope you all liked it and please R&R... I really would appreciate it. I don't normally get a lot of them and would really like to read what you think of it. Please?


	5. Chapter 3

Hooray for chapter 3~ I've had this typed up for awhile now, but I am deciding to post it now. I figured I'd work a little ahead of what was on here, so you aren't waiting too long for me to come up with some lame excuse... I'll get there! I have a lot planned for this story ^^ anywho, enjoy~

* * *

**Chapter 3: It Was A Misunderstanding, Dammit!**

So, we all know what ensued during the next few days, right? You guessed it! Hyuga quit his night job, got beaten up by his boss, and then was promptly saved by Yamaguchi Kumiko, his homeroom teacher. Hooray! (Round of applause please.)

Saya and Sayo had been acting a little strange after the incident at the Oedo household.

Maki, Mitsu, and Juri were standing in the doorway of the back door to the classroom, carefully eyeing the two girls.

"They're acting weird…" Juri mumbled, a bit suspicious and confused.

"It's not 'they', Juri." Maki corrected, keeping her eyes on the girls.

"It's mainly Sayo being weird." Mitsu added, folding her arms across her chest and knitting her eyebrows together, signaling the beginning of her thought process.

"Mm." Maki and Juri both nodded their heads in unison.

Sayo was standing by her desk, looking out the window blankly. Saya was sitting in her seat, in front of Sayo's, eyeing the floor in deep thought. Both girls were being too silent for who they are.

Suddenly, Kiri came dashing down the hallway, skidding to a halt just shy of being exactly behind Juri and Mitsu. Basically, she stopped at the door frame. The three girls just looked at her questioningly, only turning their heads to look at her. Kiri had her hands on her knees and was bent over, trying to catch her breath desperately.

"What's up with you?" Maki asked, sounding a bit sarcastic.

Kiri's breathing returned to normal and she stood up straight.

"Why are you so late?" Mitsu grinned a little, thinking of all the possibilities.

"I didn't sleep in if that's what you're getting at…" Kiri retorted, looking a little irritated by Mitsu's remark.

"Did you run into someone?" Juri questioned, deeming that the best option.

Kiri looked a tad shocked by the question. "Uh…" she blinked twice. "Well, kinda…" she looked down at the floor nervously.

"Really?" Maki now turned her being to face Kiri, because her curiosity was now rising.

"Who was it?" Mitsu was really curious too, she couldn't help it.

Kiri let out a resigned sigh. "It was that woman, Yamaguchi Kumiko…"

"Really?" Juri breathed. Maki and Mitsu's eyes widened a bit.

"Yeah…" Kiri nodded her head and turned her sights on Saya and Sayo.

"So, what did she want?" Maki questioned again, curiosity taking over.

"Well…" Kiri started explaining.

About ten minutes before Kiri arrived at the classroom door, she was jogging towards the school. Her only thought was, If I keep this up I won't be late! So she picked up her pace a little as soon as she saw the building.

Right before she entered through the gates, Kumiko came running up to the forked path. Once Kumiko spotted and recognized who Kiri was, she called out to her.

"Ano, excuse me!" Kumiko took a few quick steps towards the younger girl.

Kiri blinked a couple times, slowly coming to a stop, and turning around to face whoever was there. "Hai?"

But, once Kiri saw Kumiko, her eyes widened a little and her nervousness disappeared.

Kumiko smiled brightly. "You're one of Saya-chan and Sayo-chan's friends right?" she asked.

Kiri nodded her head once. "That's right. Jinnai, Kiri desu."

"I thought so." Kumiko's smile got more cheery and bright, if that's even possible.

"Um, was there something you needed?" Kiri asked cautiously and politely so the older woman didn't get offended.

"Oh right." Kumiko looked as if she had just remembered why she had stopped Kiri in the first place. "I have a favor to ask, if you don't mind that is."

"I probably won't mind." Kiri smiled.

"Well, that's good." Kumiko smiled back. "I would like to ask you to tell Sayo-chan that I was only teasing her the other night."

"Um, okay. Even though I have no idea what you're referring to…" Kiri was now confused.

"She'll know what you mean." Kumiko reassured her and turned to leave. "I'm already late!" the older one exclaimed and took off into the other building.

"That was weird…" Kiri tilted her head to the right a little. "Crap! Now I'm late too!" she realized and continued into the building.

"And that's what happened." Kiri finished her explanation. She eyed the two girls by the window again, trying to gain a little confidence.

"The other night?" Juri sounded curious and thoughtful. She turned her head to look at Saya and Sayo.

The two were still exactly the same as they were before Kiri showed up. They hadn't moved an inch.

"I wonder…" Mitsu started, saying all four of their thoughts aloud. "What happened?"

Without a word or signal, Kiri started towards the two. Juri and Mitsu followed her. Maki looked down the hall.

"I wonder why the meeting is taking so long…" she murmured to herself and then followed the others.

Besides the six of them, there were about ten other girls with them in the music classroom. Those ten girls were chorus club third years waiting for Minami-sensei. They were having a third year meeting apparently, or else those third years wouldn't be there. The six of them were there voluntarily, since they didn't have to attend classes anymore until graduation. They had set it up so that they were to help Minami-sensei when she needed it. However, the faculty meeting, in which Minami-sensei was attending at the moment, was taking a lot longer than normal.

Kiri stopped next to Sayo's desk and Saya finally looked somewhere other than the floor.

Saya gazed up at Kiri with a smile, masking her true thoughts. "Ohayou Kiri-chan, what's up?"

"Ano…" Kiri started, trying to figure out how to say this. "On my way here, I ran into Kumiko-san…"

"Really?" was the surprised reply Kiri got from Saya.

Kiri moved her gaze to Sayo's back, and saw her blank expression in the reflection of the window. "She asked me to tell Sayo that she was only teasing her the other night."

Sayo didn't even flinch or reply to what she heard come out of the nervous girls mouth. She only kept staring blankly at nothing in particular, just out in front of her.

"Hm. I thought so. See Sayo?" Saya replied instead, carefully watching the girl's blank face from the side.

"Ahem." Mitsu cleared her throat, causing all five of them, even Sayo, to jump a little. The girls who looked at Mitsu blinked a few times in question.

"I've been curious for a bit now." Mitsu began, gazing intently at Saya and Sayo. "Who was that college guy you two were with the other day?"

Saya blinked a few times, feeling a bit of déjà vu going on. Sayo closed her eyes, recognizing the sense of déjà vu as well.

"Heh." Sayo let out the small noise and the other eyes landed on her back.

"Is he like, your boyfriend or something?" Maki asked curiously, eyes not leaving Sayo's back.

"Well…" Saya had a crooked, awkward smile on her face and she seemed a little nervous. She glanced at Sayo, seeing the mischievous plan she was concocting on her face, and prepared to calm down the others afterwards.

"Yeah, and we're real intimate too." Sayo's voice dripped with sarcasm, and her grin was a little psychotic.

"Eh!?" Kiri and Mitsu gasped with wide eyes, apparently missing the extremely obvious sarcasm in the statement. Juri was only a little bit surprised at how sarcastic the words were, as well as curious as to why Sayo would say something like that if it wasn't possibly true. Maki was just surprised.

Saya sighed. "His name is Noda Takeshi."

But before Saya could finish her explanation, the others realized something. "Wait a sec." Mitsu interjected, a puzzled expression playing her features.

Saya blinked a few times and Kiri went on in Mitsu's place, "If he's Sayo's boyfriend…"

"Then why were both of you hanging on him like that?" Maki finished with the main question and all four of them looked at the two seriously.

"Heh." Sayo let out the sarcastic noise again with the same psychotic grin as last time.

"Relax." Saya coaxed the others suddenly. "He isn't my nor Sayo's boyfriend."

"Then who is he?" Juri finally said something.

"He's our cousin." Saya and Sayo informed in unison.

The girls only blinked a few times. Obviously, they were getting confused.

"He's Sayo's father's sister's son." Saya added before their confusion led to more questions.

"Ah…" Juri nodded absently, letting the information sink in.

"So, is he single?" Kiri smirked slyly and eyed the two mischievously, being the one to take in the info the quickest.

"Well…" Saya glanced at Sayo for the answer, as Sayo was in contact with him more than herself.

"He already has a girlfriend." Sayo answered, her back still to the girls, her eyes now open and staring blankly ahead out the window again. She could see them in the reflection of the window anyway.

"Oh boo." Kiri pouted, sticking her lips out.

"Yeah, he is pretty good looking." Saya smirked, noticing her friends attraction to her relative.

"So fess up." Mitsu started before Kiri began to whine about the college student who was unavailable to her. Saya shifted her gaze to Mitsu in question, but she should've known what was coming. "What happened 'the other night' that caused Kumiko-san to say something like that? Hm?" the look she gave was of the demanding type, her hands were even on her hips.

Saya looked a bit taken aback and her now worried gaze fell on her look alike cousin. Sayo only shifted her eyes to the floor and tried to keep her mind blank and ignore the oncoming conversation.

"Do you want me to tell them Sayo?" Saya decided that she would Sayo first then tell the others, it was just safer than speaking before thinking, like Kiri did a lot. But Sayo didn't answer and instead closed her eyes tightly.

"We went to Kumiko-sempai's house and unexpectedly saw Yabuki-san and Odagiri-san there…" Saya trailed off before she said something she shouldn't have. Although, with Kiri and Mitsu's quick minds, she probably already did.

"Something happened right?" Kiri began the quizzing with a semi-serious tone.

"And it had to do with them didn't it?" Mitsu joined in, a bit more serious than Kiri.

Saya only nodded her head as an answer while Sayo still continued to struggle to retain her memories. Because she knew the consequences of letting them run free.

"So what happened?" Kiri sounded really curious, and knew the others knew this might not be the best thing this early in the morning.

"Oh no…" Maki murmured from her place behind Kiri.

"Not good…" Juri whispered as well, speaking her mind.

Kiri tactfully ignored the hushed comments and continued waiting for a reply.

"Sayo?" Saya turned to Sayo again in question, unsure of whether or not Sayo wanted them to know.

Sayo balled her fist by her side. Saya noticed this and decided that, if she wanted to or not, Sayo needed to get this off her chest.

"Well, Kumiko-sempai kind of misunderstood a scene that night…" Saya quickly returned her sights on the other four girls.

"What scene did she misunderstand?" Mitsu had a devilish smirk now.

"See, what happened was, Sayo and Odagiri-san were both sitting next to each other on the porch observing the garden." Saya began describing the scene.

"Aw, how cute." Kiri smiled while taking a quick glance at Sayo's back, but didn't linger long. Sayo flinched a little at the déjà vu she felt yet again.

"Yeah, Kumiko-sempai thought so too." Saya chuckled a tad at the irony.

"What happened after that?" Juri asked. Now she was curious as to what Sayo did in response to an outburst like that. Especially since it was about her and someone she hardly even knows.

"I didn't follow her to the other room, but when she came out, she was almost as red as a cherry and left quite quickly." Saya informed, looking to Sayo's side in the process.

That was it. That was all it took.

Sayo's memories could no longer be restrained. As a consequence, her face went up in flames, her body started quivering ever so slightly from embarrassment, and she had to refrain from turning herself around to either yell or just run away from them. She didn't want to be, and refused to be, someone that others thought was weak.

"But, Kumiko-sempai did mention that she had jokingly asked Sayo if she liked Odagiri-san." Saya added thoughtfully.

And Sayo broke.

"Eh?" Mitsu and Kiri both looked pleased by that little addition, immediately amused by the topic.

Juri watched Sayo's back carefully. Something was wrong with her.

Sayo had stopped moving completely. Her slight quivering was gone. Her fists fell open at her sides. Her shoulders slumped. The blush that was on her face had been replaced by an almost paper white color. Her eyes were as wide as they could possibly get. And her breathing had slowed, seemingly almost stopping completely, if that could make things worse. Her legs were the only thing that didn't lose their strength, because she was obviously still standing.

"But she told me she was only teasing her." Kiri said, thinking about earlier.

"I imagine it was her 'Valentine's Day payback' so to speak." Maki mentioned absently, thinking back to the events of Valentine's Day.

"Eh?" Saya and Mitsu blinked, heads turning to Maki. Kiri turned her head too.

"What happened on Valentine's?" Kiri asked, her words full of pure curiosity.

"Well, all of her class teased her after they watched her give Kujo-sensei chocolate." Maki smirked at her own memory.

Sayo snapped back to reality, taking in a sharp yet soundless breath, and blinked a few times.

* * *

Kumiko came crashing into the classroom huffing as if she was out of breath. The guys just stared at her as if her skin had suddenly turned green and she had a matching shell on her back. After a few seconds, she stood up straight and walked over to her podium to take attendance.

Ryu was still a little curious about what happened between Sayo and Kumiko that night when the four students were over at the older woman's house. But he kept it hidden that he was.

Hayato, however, was really up front about it and asked Ryu about what he thought went on between the two that particular night when him and Ryu were alone. Cause let's face it, they couldn't tell the other guys about Yankumi's home life unless it was their absolute last resort. So he kept it between the two of them.

Kumiko had been a little distracted throughout the whole period. She was still a little worried about Sayo and how she took that playful conversation. Only a few of the guys in the class noticed her spacey actions, but kept to themselves. Ryu was among them.

The way she was acting made him even more curious about that night.

When the period was over, Kumiko left silently and that was when the whole class looked at her. When the door slid shut behind her, the room exploded with conversation.

"Yankumi seemed really spacey today…" Take turned towards Hayato and Ryu.

"Yeah, no kidding." Hyuga chuckled.

"She's like that a lot though, don't you think?" Tsuchi questioned, standing from his seat and flicking open his fan.

Hayato shrugged his shoulders. "I don't pay that much attention to her."

"Hm." Take nodded his head thoughtfully.

Take, Tsuchi, and Hyuga went on to talk about a few other things, seeing as they had all day in this classroom with nothing to do but the usual. Hayato and Ryu looked at each other, then down at the floor thoughtfully. But Hayato quickly joined the others in playing darts to not look suspicious. To the others, Ryu was being normal.

After a bit of darts, cards, and basketball, the class was getting even more bored than normal.

"Man! I wish there was something to do…" Hyuga mumbled.

"Yeah, no kidding." Take nodded in agreement.

Tsuchi and Hayato nodded their heads silently.

"Ne…" Hayato drawled lazily, the others heads turning to him in response. "Anything interesting happen in your lives lately?"

"Eh?" Take blinked, then began to think.

"Not really." Hyuga sighed, leaning forward and resting his head on his desk.

"Tsuchi?"

"Hm… Hamaguchi, Kojima, Omori and I put in applications with Joyful Company for an interview…" Tsuchi let out thoughtfully.

"Eh!?" Hyuga shot up again and looked at Tsuchi with a shocked expression.

"Really?" Take blinked a couple times.

"Wow." Hayato smirked.

"Yeah, but we haven't heard anything from them yet…" Tsuchi added with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

The others kind of just sunk back into their seats after the shock disappeared.

* * *

"Sorry I'm so late girls." Ayumi came through the door with a stack of music sheets in her arms. Her long brown hair was up in a loose bun and a few strands of loose hair fell in her face. She smiled a little as all the heads in the room turned to meet her.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Minami-sensei." they chorused.

"Ohayou." she returned, her smile broadening.

As she made her way to her small podium, she sighed and hung her head for a moment.

Saya blinked a few times at her mother's behavior. Sayo had finally looked away from the window.

It was almost as if the whole thing that happened at Kumiko's house never happened. Saya and Sayo were completely the same as they always were.

Ayumi set her papers on the podium and turned her attention to the third year chorus girls.

"Okay girls, this is your final performance of the year, so I want you all to do your best." she smiled as the girls' faces grew happy, with the smallest hint of sadness.

"We will, Minami-sensei." one of the girls in the front of the group nodded her head and reassured the teacher.

"Good, I'm glad."

One of the girls in the middle of the group turned back to the six girls in the back of the classroom. "I'm curious though."

"Eh?" Kiri blinked.

"Tsukioka-san, Minami-san, why didn't you two stay in chorus this year?" she looked a bit disappointed.

Saya blinked a couple times in surprise. "Oh… well…"

Sayo wasn't sure she knew how to answer the question so she stayed quiet.

"The girls are taking classes at night, so they don't have time to be in any kind of club." Ayumi answered for them and the girl turned back to her.

"Really?" a different girl questioned.

"Yes."

"What kind of class are you taking Minami-san?" another one of the girls in the back of the group came bounding over to Saya in excitement.

"It's…" Saya paused for a second, knowing this would come as a shock to everyone except Sayo and her mother. "A conversational English class."

"Eh??" the whole room echoed.

"What about you, Tsukioka-san?" the girl turned her head to Sayo and eyed her expectantly.

"I'm taking the same class as Saya."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Sayo smiled contently.

"That's also why she isn't on the track team this year." Minami-sensei added.

The girls nodded and the room got a little quiet.

"Anyway, you girls want to do a warm-up or something? This is my free period." Ayumi proposed.

"Actually, a lot of us still have to go see the results of our exams." the first girl who spoke earlier informed the teacher.

"Ah, I forgot about that. Well, don't let me keep you." Ayumi smiled as the ten girls left the room.

"So, do you girls want to do some freestyle?" Ayumi looked a little playful.

"Why did the meeting take so long mom?" Saya asked, as soon as she saw the last girl leave.

"Eh, we were just going over a few things. Plus, Kyoto-sensei told Kujo-sensei that there was a special offer for him." Ayumi sighed, moving to her piano.

"Eh?" Juri blinked.

"What kind of special offer?" Mitsu inquired, curiosity rising.

"I wish I knew. But Kyoto-sensei pulled him into Kochou-sensei's office for privacy…" Ayumi informed then sighed afterwards and began playing a few notes on the piano.

The girls moved forward towards the piano and Minami-sensei. Kiri and Mitsu took the seats closest to the piano. Juri and Maki sat behind them. And Saya and Sayo stood behind Minami-sensei.

"So, what do you girls want to sing?" Ayumi asked with a smile on her face.

"Um…" Mitsu and Kiri began thinking about that question.

The other girls stayed a little quiet while thinking as well.

"Okay, who wants to sing first?" Ayumi asked again, her smile was now an amused one.

"I guess I'll go first, since I have to leave in a little while for work." Maki stood from her seat and moved beside the piano.

"Okay, so what will you sing for us?" Ayumi lifted her hands from the piano and set them neatly in her lap.

"Hmm… I'm not too sure." Maki mumbled, eyeing the ceiling in thought.

"Well, think about it while we warm up your vocals, okay?" Ayumi suggested.

Maki nodded her head.

"The rest of you too. Everyone is warming up, just like in class." Ayumi eyed the seated girls and then hovered her hands over the piano keys. "I don't want you to hurt your voice, okay?"

"Hai." the girls answered and prepared themselves for warming up.

The girls then proceeded to warm up for about five minutes. Once Minami-sensei was pleased, she turned to Maki once again in question as to what song she wanted to sing. Maki knew the question, and Minami-sensei knew that so she didn't ask, just waited for the answer.

"It's called Diamond ~Kibou no Shirushi~." Maki informed.

"Okay." Ayumi nodded her head and turned to face her piano, striking the keys of the song.

Maki began singing. The girls watched with smiles as Maki sang happily, lightly doing the little para para-like dance as well.

"_tatta hitorikiri no kimi gakoushite koko ni iru koto_

_shinjita kara ima ga aru koto_

_tsutaete kureteru_

_itsu made demo doko made demo_

_kawarazu hitamuki de itekondo wa sou kagayaku kimi ga_

_dareka no yume ni naru"_

After she finished her song, Kiri popped up out of her seat with her hand raised and a giant smile on her face. "I wanna be next!"

"Okay, what are you going to sing Kiri-chan?" Ayumi smiled at the hyper girl next to her. Maki had returned to her seat and was now observing Kiri's nutty behavior.

"Evolution!" Kiri answered with sparkling eyes and a triumphant smile.

"Alright." Ayumi got up from the piano and pulled out a radio. After plugging it in, she pulled out a big collection of karaoke cds. She inserted the one with Ayumi Hamasaki's Evolution on it and let it play. Of course, the volume wasn't too loud so no one got suspicious of what exactly was going on in the classroom.

And Kiri belted it out. The girls all watched her with amused grins.

"_Konna toki ni umaretsuita yo_

_Dakedo nan to ka susundette_

_Dakara nan to ka koko ni tatte_

_Bokura wa kyou wo okutteru_

_wow yeah wow yeah wow wow yeah"_

"Wow Kiri, that was kinda unexpected." Mitsu laughed as she stood.

"Well, you'd be surprised by what you don't know eh?" Kiri felt proud of herself and it showed on her face.

"Yeah, we would be." Mitsu chuckled. "I'll go next."

"Alright, what will you sing Mitsu-chan?" Ayumi asked, picking up her collection of karaoke cds again.

"How about Addicted To You?" Mitsu answered, a plain smile on her face.

"Ryokai." Ayumi flipped through the pages of cds, found the one with the song, and inserted it into the radio after taking out the other cd.

Mitsu sang a tad off key but it was still okay and the girls still smiled throughout the whole song.

"_Dakedo sore ja kurushikute_

_Mainichi aitakuteKono kimochi dou sureba ii no?_

_Ima otona ni narinakute_

_Ikinari narenakute_

_Oh baby (oh baby)_

_Kimi ni addicted kamo"_

"Woo! Go Mi-chan!" Kiri cheered enthusiastically.

"Shut it." Mitsu shot her down, sounding a bit irritated.

"Alright, my turn." Juri stood from her chair and made her way to Minami-sensei.

"Song?" Ayumi asked, looking over her shoulder, while taking the cd out of the radio and placing back in its sleeve.

"Come Again." Juri informed sweetly.

"Ryokai." Ayumi found the cd quickly and popped it into the radio.

Juri's singing was sweet like an angel. The girls could only look at her, almost admiring her, while she sang.

"_Kin'youbi no sukara ni kimi wo wasure ni, odoriakasu yo, kon'ya_

_I'll sing you this song, todoku you ni_

_Setsunai merodi- ni namida shinai you ni ku-ru ni ne"_

"Wow Juri-chan, after hearing that, I wonder why you didn't join the chorus." Ayumi commented after Juri finished singing.

"Eheh. Well, I don't do very good in front of large crowds…" Juri mumbled on her way back to her seat.

"Okay, Saya, Sayo-chan, you're the only ones left. Who's first?" Ayumi looked to the two girls who were still standing by the piano.

Saya took one step forward. "I'll go first. Sayo," Saya looked back over her shoulder at the silent one. "You have to sing too."

Sayo only nodded her head once and Saya looked ahead of her again. "Game."

"Ryokai." Ayumi smiled and inserted the correct cd into the radio.

Saya sang the song almost perfectly. Towards the end she got really into it and shook her head a few times.

"_Ashita no imagoro ni wa wasureteru you na_

_Sono ba shinogi no kotoba nante iranai_

_Itsumo yori sukoshi nagabi kase sugita no_

_Daijoubu GEEMU nara mata sagaseba ii"_

After she finished, she walked over to the window by the piano and leaned on the sill. Sayo pushed herself off the windowsill lightly and made her way towards her aunt.

Before Ayumi could ask, Sayo said, "Crazy 4 U."

Ayumi nodded her head. "Ryokai."

The small instrumental in the beginning of the song helped Sayo prepare herself. A little to the end, there's an instrumental interlude before the very end and Sayo was street dancing in that short time and resumed singing right when she needed to.

"_Crazy for your love_

_Sono te de kowareru hodo no hageshii wa na_

_Only for youDaki ai kuzureta mama no_

_It's love game_

_Kagiri naku tsuzuku yozora wa haruka kanata_

_Yagate kuru kakegae nai kono asa"_

Sayo ended breathing a little harder than normal because she danced so suddenly. She slowly made her way to the window again and leaned on the sill to catch her breath.

"Wow Sayo, I don't think I've ever seen you do that before during karaoke…" Mitsu mumbled in aw.

"Well, I guess I was just into it…" Sayo mumbled with her eyes closed.

"I see…" Maki nodded her head.

Once the girls saw the clock, they kind of blinked a little.

"It's that time already?" Juri asked no one in particular. This caused Ayumi and Saya to look up at the clock as well.

"I guess it is…" Saya murmured.

"The bell will be ringing any minute now." Ayumi noted.

Sayo pushed herself off the sill again and walked to the back of the classroom slowly, Saya following.

Maki stood up. "I guess I better go before I'm late…"

"Yeah, me too…" Mitsu sighed.

Juri and Kiri joined Saya and Sayo in the back of the classroom. Maki and Mitsu left the classroom and headed off to work.

The bell rang and the first music class of the day slowly began to fill.

* * *

Take, Tsuchi, and Hyuga were the only ones to come visit Maki-chan and Mitsu after school.

"Eh? You're not with Odagiri-san and Yabuki-san today?" Mitsu asked them curiously from behind the bar while preparing their drinks.

"Nah, those two said they were gonna talk about something and didn't feel like coming here today." Hyuga answered in a laid back manner, waving his hand in front of his face.

"Yeah, they seemed a little too quiet for them today." Tsuchi mentioned thoughtfully.

"Eh?" Mitsu blinked twice. "Isn't Odagiri-san always quiet?"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Take smiled.

"Here you are guys." Mitsu smiled as she placed each drink in front of it's respective owner.

"Thanks Mitsu-chan." Tsuchi nodded his head.

Take only smiled.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." Hyuga winked.

Mitsu could only chuckle at that. She turned away from them shaking her head as she made her way to her next customer.

Maki came back behind the bar to prepare someone else's drink.

"Ne Maki-chan." Take started and she looked up at him questioningly. "Where are the other girls?"

"Yeah, aren't they usually here with you?" Tsuchi added.

"Oh, they're probably wandering around somewhere. Saya-chan and Sayo-chan have night classes so I'm sure that's where they are. But Juri and Kiri either went home or are just out and about." Maki answered, still preparing the other customer's drink.

"Eh…" Take nodded his head and sipped his drink.

"What kind of night classes are they taking?" Hyuga asked.

Maki was about to leave, she had the drink on her tray already, and she looked over her shoulder. "Ask Mitsu."

"Ask me what?" Mitsu was coming back to put up a few cups.

"What kind of night classes are Saya-chan and Sayo-chan taking?" Hyuga repeated.

"Oh." Mitsu smiled again and set the cups down where they belonged. "Conversational English classes."

"Conversational English?" Tsuchi seemed a little confused. "Why would they need to know that?"

"Not sure." Mitsu shrugged. "Because they want to know it?"

"Maybe." Take chuckled.

"I guess you're right…" Tsuchi gave in and took a big gulp of his drink.

* * *

"Man, I'm bored." Hayato drawled, leaning over the pool table. He was aiming for a striped ball to go in the corner pocket.

"You've said that a hundred times already." Ryu commented calmly, watching Hayato carefully.

"Well, is it sinking in yet?" Hayato asked as he thrust the pool stick to make the shot. Unfortunately, he missed.

"What's supposed to sink in?" Ryu questioned, his calm demeanor still there. He was now studying the current set up of the table. There wasn't much he could do to make anything in so he figured he'd just wing it this time.

"I don't know." Hayato mumbled almost inaudibly.

Ryu heard that and totally screwed up his shot. He just barely tipped the cue ball and the end of his pool stick was less than an inch from pushing the eight ball into the side pocket. Seeing that, he quickly drew his pool stick backwards, away from the eight ball.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Ryu's voice was a mix of befuddlement and slight irritation.

"Just what I said." Hayato repeated himself and looked at the pool table, knowing it was his turn.

"You asked me that and didn't even know what you were talking about?" Ryu dead panned, letting the irritation show on his face clearly.

"Yeah, kind of." Hayato shrugged. He figured he'd try to make the same shot as last time again. "All right, let's try this again." he mumbled, leaning over the table again and taking aim.

Ryu sighed and hung his head at his companion. "…" he couldn't find anything to say to him.

Hayato shot again, and ultimately missed his target and scratched. "Damn."

Ryu opened his eyes and lifted his head to see the reason for his companion's curse. A small smirk ran over his lips once he noticed the cue ball missing. Perfect opportunity.

"I guess what I meant was find something to talk about…" Hayato let out thoughtfully, eyeing the table intently.

"Ah… What did you have in mind?" Ryu asked as he retrieved the cue ball from the corner pocket and moved to his place on the opposite end of the table.

Hayato went to say something but closed his mouth quickly and began to think hard. Ryu shook his head lightly and took his shot. His solid that was on the same end, close to one of the corner pockets made it in, and he prepared for his second turn. He only had three balls left, not including the eight ball. He decided to move the one that was close to the center of the table closer to a pocket.

"Um…" Hayato let out right as Ryu took his second shot. The cue ball hit the solid dead on, so hard that the cue ball stopped after hitting the solid. Meanwhile, the solid made it's way toward the bottom edge of the table, but rebounded once it hit and almost made it all the way back to in front of Ryu, but stopped short.

"Your turn." Ryu told Hayato, who was still thinking hard, after the ball stopped moving.

Hayato looked over to the table and nodded his head. While Hayato took his turn, Ryu paid no attention to him and stared out the glass window on the far end of the room. People passed by left and right.

And he had to admit, he was bored too.

Hayato let out a sound of excitement. "Yeah!"

Ryu turned around, curious about the sudden outburst. "Made it in?"

Hayato only nodded his head, making his way around the table to the cue ball. He had four stripes left plus the eight ball. One of them was close to the eight ball, by the same side pocket, only the eight ball was only one single touch from going in. So he didn't want to risk that. Instead, he went for the other corner pocket he had.

Ryu watched as Hayato shot and missed yet again. His small signature smirk came back to play on his lips as he made his way to the cue ball to take his turn.

Hayato looked out the window, for what was meant to be a few seconds, but lasted longer than that.

It had gotten pretty late and a lot of cram school kids were getting out of class and heading home.

They were there a lot of the time, but only about half of the usual crowd was passing by tonight. Hayato's curiosity grew.

Ryu had already taken two turns while Hayato was observing the flow of cram students passing by.

"Ah!" Hayato realized what he had missed.

"I got lucky." Ryu said calmly before Hayato said anything stupid and pissed him off the slightest.

"Eh…" Hayato breathed as he made his way to the cue ball. He would have made the shot, if only his keitai hadn't vibrated on his butt and startled the shit out of him. He almost ripped a hole in the table top fabric with his pool stick. He got lucky and only grazed it. Well, in that aspect anyway.

Truth was, he lost the game. Because that sudden jolt also caused him to ever so slightly tip the eight ball and it fell into the side pocket.

The shock was too much for him. He could only stare at the pocket in disbelief. Ryu smirked and tried not to laugh out right at Hayato.

Hayato's keitai stopped vibrating for a few seconds and then started again. It did manage to shock him a second time, but not as bad. He reached into his back pocket and flipped it open. "What?"

"Hey, are you still with Ryu?" It was Hyuga.

"Yes. You just cost me a game of pool! Now I have to buy Ryu lunch for the rest of the week…" Hayato grumbled through the phone.

"Oh, sorry. But anyway, you two should come down to the fountain." Hyuga didn't sound sorry, but amused and Hayato hated him for it.

"Why?" his patience was growing thin with Hyuga.

"You'll see when you get here." Hyuga was smirking, Hayato could tell.

Ryu grabbed Hayato's pool stick from him and put them both away.

"Why?" Hayato repeated, getting angrier by the second.

"You'll see." And Hyuga hung up.

Hayato held the phone in front of him and stared at it.

"Where do they want us to go?" Ryu asked, calm as usual. Totally unfazed by Hayato's behavior, as he was used to it already.

Hayato closed his eyes, snapped the phone shut, and gripped it tightly. "The fountain."

"Did he say why?"

"No, the asshole…" Hayato grumbled, loosening his grip on his phone and replacing it in his school jacket pocket instead of his back pants pocket.

Ryu shrugged and began to leave without Hayato. "Oi!" Hayato called, once he realized Ryu had started leaving without him.

Ryu slowed his pace a little and waited for the infuriated idiot to catch up with him.

Once Hayato was next to him, they walked a little faster than normal.

"Eh?" Hayato looked to be a little confused now.

"What?"

"Aren't these all cram school students?" Hayato asked, figuring Ryu's answer wasn't going to help him any.

And he was right, cause the answer was only a shrug.

Hayato recognized a few of the regular junior high students and high school first years that passed by the pool tables every night. "Yeah, they are. But why are they here…"

"Maybe it's the same reason the others are here." Ryu suggested, looking around for said classmates.

"I guess you could be right." Hayato was also looking for the tall Tsuchiya Hikaru, who stuck out from a crowd for obvious reasons.

"There they are." Ryu pointed towards a bench that was placed under two trees, facing the fountain.

"Yosh." Hayato headed over, Ryu behind him. He was ready to give Hyuga a piece of his mind.

On their way over to the three, they totally ignored what was attracting such a large crowd at this time of night, and in such a place.

Take was the first to see the two out of the corner of his eye. "Yo! Hayato! Ryu! Over here!" he waved his hand in the air as he called to them.

"Eh?" Tsuchi noticed Take's calls somehow, through all the hoots, hollers, and whistles coming from the crowd. He looked over to where Take was looking and, once he saw the two, smiled.

Hyuga was too immersed in watching whatever it was that was in front of the fountain causing a commotion, to notice the angry Hayato and calm Ryu coming towards them.

"Oi." Hayato said dangerously once he was next to Hyuga.

Hyuga only looked up at him with his already dreamy look. "What is it?"

"Why…" Hayato was extremely confused by the look on Hyuga's face to continue to be angry.

Ryu had already turned his head to the attraction and hadn't moved his eyes from it since he had. He stared on in disbelief.

"What's up with you man?" Hayato asked Hyuga, Hayato looked like he was staring at a talking turtle or something.

Hyuga only ignored the question and returned his gaze to the attraction.

"Man, you came just in time." Tsuchi told Hayato with a smirk.

"Why?" Hayato was even more confused now.

"Because…" Take smiled. " It's Saya-chan and Sayo-chan's solo next."

"Eh?" Hayato's eyes widened and his head shot over to the fountain.

And there they were.

All six of the girls, dressed in baggy pants, canvas sneakers, and baseball caps. They were dancing street on a small blanket one of them had brought with them, to a radio playing some good dance songs. They were in sync when they danced too. Maki was the only one with a completely different pair of pants on.

Maki had on a pair of washed out, fashionably ripped up, denim pants, a light blue hoodie, red canvas shoes with a black haired girl on each side of them, and a white baseball cap sticking out from under the hood of the jacket.

Juri, Kiri, and Mitsu had on the same pair of pants. The only thing that was different about them was their color.

Juri's were khaki, and she left the pant legs down. On her feet were white canvas sneakers decorated with red and black bunnies and a little bit of other things on the sides. Her torso sported a white jacket that was zipped up half way and showed the black spaghetti strap shirt under it. Her baseball cap was yellow with a bit of dark blue writing on the front.

Kiri's pants were a vibrant red color, scrunched up and tied off at her knees, showing off her legs from the calf down. Her feet were covered with a pair of gold and white high top canvas sneakers, the gold being an interesting abstract design covering the bottom and heels. Her torso was covered with a white long sleeved boat neck shirt with a black racerback t-shirt under it. Her baseball cap was a dark brown, with a couple links of gold chain on the front.

Mitsu's pants were black and scrunched up like Kiri's were; at the knees. Her canvas sneakers were black with a little grey cartoon guy on the sides with a yellow bandana on his head. She had a grey zip-up light weight jacket over a black racerback t-shirt on her torso. The baseball cap she wore was pink with a golden eagle on the front.

Saya and Sayo were in the back, as it wasn't quite their turns, so the guys couldn't really see the two.

"Wow, they look awesome." Hayato sounded almost as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Ryu only nodded his head once, waiting to see the other two. The current song ended and a new one started, while the girls switched positions. Saya and Sayo were the only two left standing. It was time for their 'duet', if that's what you'd call it.

Maki and Juri sat on the right side drinking out of their water bottles with their towels around their necks. Maki had pulled her hood off her head and also took off her baseball cap. Juri took hers off too. Mitsu and Kiri sat on the opposite side of Maki and Juri, watching Saya and Sayo expectantly, waiting for them to start.

The girls had seen the two do this dance many different times, but their sync still amazed them to no end. That's why they always anticipated their dance. Kiri snapped off the end of the pocky she had stuck in her mouth, and was in the middle of popping her ramune open. Mitsu just shook her head at Kiri's antics while sipping from her Coca-Cola bottle.

Saya and Sayo both had on the same exact pair of pants. There was no difference at all. Luckily that was the only matching factor in their wardrobe.

Saya had on a long sleeved yellow shirt over a grey racerback t-shirt and a black and white baseball cap on her head. Her canvas sneakers were white, decorated with two skulls in red and black with a drawn on checkered background behind the skulls.

Sayo had on a fully black baseball cap and a little bit of silver make up on her eyes. She had on a long sleeved white hooded light weight jacket with a drawstring around the bottom and a grey racerback t-shirt under it. The racerback only showed because of the v-neck of the jacket. It also peeped out from the bottom of the jacket. Her canvas sneakers were black with two skulls outlined in blue, with a pink bow on the skull on the right, and the words 'Valentine's Day Carnival' written on the insoles in white.

Their pants were a slightly pale navy blue color. They were the perfect dance pants for this occasion.

The song 'Yeah' by Usher blared through the radio and the girls began dancing like their bodies were on fire. Their hips moved in circles at a time, their arms flew up into the air and to their sides countless times, they even were back to back at one point. They were moving their heads so fast and harshly that Sayo accidentally knocked her baseball cap off her head. In fact, her arms were moving so fast and her head flung backwards, making her hair fly through the air, that her hat landed by Ryu's feet.

No one moved until the two finished dancing.

As the two stood motionless, aside from their heavy breathing, the large crowd erupted with hoots, hollers, whistles, and clapping. Most of the guys in the crowd were yelling 'Can I have your number?' to them. They just stood there trying to steady their breathing patterns, with their heads turned in the opposite direction of each other, and looking at the ground. Their hair was sticking to their sweaty faces and covering their eyes, due to the force of gravity.

Saya's breathing returned to normal first, and she looked up at the crowd with a smile of satisfaction. Quickly and lightly, she scanned the crowd then looked to her left to see Mitsu and Kiri smiling smugly. Then she looked over to her right and saw Juri with an expression on her face that could only be described as a five-year-old girl opening a present to find it's the Barbie doll she had wanted all year on her birthday. Maki just had an amazed smile on her face, and that was exactly what Saya had expected from her. Her eyes finally landed on Sayo next to her, still eyeing the ground and her breathing still a little ragged.

Then something hit her, and apparently it had hit Sayo too.

At the same exact time, both of their heads shot directly in front of them to the occupied bench under two trees. And they saw the guys.

Ryu bent down, picked up Sayo's hat and stared at it for a second or two, then looked up at her with a blank expression. Sayo gulped as he kept staring at her. She didn't want him to think anything weird, so she returned the gaze with determination to hold it until he gave up. But he didn't.

Instead, he slowly walked towards her. Her eyes widened and she blinked a few times at this sudden movement of his. She hadn't expected him to give it back to her himself. She figured he'd hand it to one of the others and tell that one to give it back to her.

He got a few inches from her, causing the crowd to look on in anticipation as to what could possibly happen. Sayo knew what they were thinking, but she knew something like that wouldn't happen. Not with a guy like Ryu.

He grabbed her right hand with his free hand and placed her hat in it.

When he did, the crowd kind of sagged a little, and a small smirk came on her features. He let go of her hand and turned around. Physically, Sayo felt slightly disappointed when he let go of her hand, and it shocked her. But unconsciously, she knew why she felt that way. She had kept telling herself that she would never ever admit it, not even to herself. Those mixed feelings would stay an enigma to her and everyone around her.

Even to Odagiri Ryu.

She refused to tell, and that was that.

After regaining herself, she put the baseball cap back on her head while Ryu was heading back to the guys.

The girls started packing up and the crowd dissipated, leaving the guys and the girls alone, but a few feet from each other.

The blanket apparently belonged to Kiri, who had it tucked under her right arm. The radio was Juri's. The girls made signals to each other and headed off in different directions.

"Well, that was entertaining." Hyuga stood up and stretched his stiff limbs.

"I'm gonna head home." Take smiled and waved, turning in the direction he needed to go.

"I think we all should just go home for tonight." Hayato mentioned. Ryu nodded.

"Alright. See you tomorrow." Tsuchi waved as he left for home as well. Hyuga trotted off in his direction without saying anything.

Ryu and Hayato went the same way so they walked together. Their trip together was silent until Hayato was about to part with Ryu.

"You know…" he started, looking up at the empty navy night sky.

"Hm?" Ryu wasn't looking at him, but at the gray pavement of the street blankly.

"You could've said or even done something when you gave that back to her."

"So?"

"Well," Hayato moved his gaze from the sky to the road ahead of him. "I think everyone was expecting you to."

"I don't care."

"Yeah, I know that." Hayato grumbled, furrowing his eyebrows a little.

Ryu didn't say anything this time, just kept staring at the street.

"It wouldn't have killed you to have at least said something to her." Hayato's face returned to a neutral expression. "She probably wouldn't have minded."

Ryu just shrugged. Hayato saw that out of the corner of his eyes and sighed.

"Man, you really are stubborn sometimes, you know that?" Hayato turned to Ryu.

Finally, Ryu looked up from the pavement and to Hayato, but didn't change his expression. His eyes silently asked what the hell Hayato meant by that. He was glad to explain.

"Don't you like her?"

"Huh?" Ryu was now clearly confused. Hayato sighed again.

"You really can be stubborn." Hayato looked back at the road ahead of him.

Ryu kept his eyes on Hayato though. For some odd reason, he still couldn't figure out what the hell Hayato was trying to get at.

"Never mind. I'll see you tomorrow at school." Hayato began walking down the street, waving his hand above his head behind him in farewell.

Ryu walked home the rest of the way and still couldn't figure out what Hayato was trying to tell him.

Something was happening to him.

What exactly that was, he didn't know quite yet, but he figured he was bound to find out.

But that wouldn't be for some time now.

* * *

Oh~ I love that scene with Hayato and Ryu playingpool /// I only put it in because I can totally see it happening in my head (lol). Oh, btw, the song, Diamond ~Kibo No Shirushi~ is a real song sang by the actress who plays Maki in the j-drama, Wakatsuki Chinatsu. It's cute and her only pv on . So if you wanna check it out, be my guest. Um... the other songs mentioned might be obvious, but for other reasons, I will say who sings them. Utada, Koda Kumi, Ayumi Hamasaki, and m-flo. Well, that's all I wanted to say, please R&R~ it'll make me happy ^^


	6. Side Story 1

**Tell Me, We Met For A Reason, Right? A Gokusen Story, the Side-stories.**

_**This little side story occurs in the middle episode 7 of the drama.**_

_**Story 1: It's Them Again…**_

The girls had been dancing for a few consecutive days to get their minds off their stress from graduation and college entrance exams. They had become an attraction that a lot of people wanted to see. Every night they danced, there was an abnormally large crowd around the fountain. The crowd wasn't scattered by the cops because they were watching too.

Ayumi, and her twin sister Mayumi, along with her brother-in-law Yuto, were traveling around Ginza. They knew the girls were out dancing and were fine with it. Actually, that particular evening, the three had gone out to the Ginza fountain just for that attraction. The girls.

Ironically enough, the three sat where the Kurogin boys had sat when they were there watching.

Of course, the girls were dressed in the same attire as before. It was their uniform after all.

Yuto, Sayo's father, had finally gotten a night off work to relax and ended up being dragged out to Ginza with his wife and her sister. He griped at first, but after the twins mentioned the girls, he perked up a bit. It had been a while since he'd seen his little girl dance.

Ayumi and Mayumi moved their bodies lightly to the rhythm while watching the girls do their thing. Needless to say Yuto was a little shocked at how his daughter and niece were dancing.

Saya and Sayo did their dance earlier than last time, so the three adults left afterwards, heading towards a standing bar. Ayumi had emailed the girls about where the three of them would be and trusted they would know what to do.

Ryu and Hayato had been walking by, bored out of their minds, and saw that the girls were dancing again.

"Want to go watch them again?" Hayato asked Ryu, turning his head to his companion just enough to see him out of the corners of his eyes.

Ryu only shrugged.

Hayato looked forward again and headed towards the crowd that was there. Ryu followed with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. He scanned the crowd absently, not taking note of the three rival school boys sitting on the bench under two trees directly in front of the girls.

After about three feet of walking behind oblivious Hayato, Ryu realized what was wrong with those guys staring at the girls like that.

They were the three who had approached the six girls a few weeks ago and got told off by Sayo.

Ryu had stopped walking once realization clanged him on his head like a sledgehammer. When he came back to reality, he had to find Hayato. Luckily the idiot was leaning on a tree not too far from him. He walked over quick-paced to his companion and tried to look casual.

"Hey," he started, getting Hayato's attention, even though neither had turned their heads to one another.

"Yeah?"

"Remember when Sayo-chan punched that one guy from one of our rival schools?"

"Yeah, why?" Hayato still had his eyes on the dancing girls.

"They're here."

Hayato blinked a few times after hearing that. His gaze finally tore from the girls to Ryu, eyes wide with shock. "Maji?"

Ryu only nodded his head in answer. He was watching the girls for a few seconds while Hayato registered the information in his head and began scanning the crowd.

"Man…" Hayato muttered once he saw the three. They really are ugly.

Ryu moved his gaze from the girls quietly and eyed Hayato for the rest of what was to come out of his mouth, intelligent or not.

"They better not do anything stupid."

Ryu blinked once and then looked at the three. "Agreed."

After a while, the girls finished dancing and were drinking from their water bottles and talking to each other. Sayo was the only one turned around, not talking. She was messing with the radio, taking out the cds, turning it off, and unplugging it at a slow pace. But it was long enough for the three morons from that school to come up to the others.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Momojo-chans." the leader smirked, eyeing them all.

They all stopped talking and turned their heads to the guys. Juri instantly turned into a wounded sheep and hid behind Mitsu again. Kiri furrowed her eyebrows, watching them cautiously. Maki had an impassive look on her face as she eyed the guys, knowing what would possibly ensue if they did anything stupid.

Saya eyed the guys and Sayo warily, a little worried about what might happen. After all, there wasn't really anyone else around. The crowd had dissipated into nothing, even the cops were gone.

Sayo was still messing with the radio, taking her time with what she was doing. She had noticed those idiots in the crowd after her mom, dad, and aunt left. She had a sinking feeling that they would approach them after their performance was over. Mainly because the leader seemed so interested in her.

The girls said nothing.

"Aw, you won't say anything." the one on the left, baka 1, mock pouted. If you remember correctly, the only semi-good looking one in the group is the leader. The other two are hideous.

Hayato and Ryu stopped leaning on the tree and stood up straight, alert and ready to sprint over to help the girls again. Even though Sayo might not appreciate it much.

"Come on, we want to hear your lovely voices." the other on the right, baka 2, tried to plead to them, but only made himself uglier (if that's even possible!), causing the girls to cringe a little and lean away from him a bit.

Saya had kept moving her eyes back and forth between the three guys in front of her and her cousin behind her. Sayo was turning off the radio now.

"Why won't you girls say anything?" the baka leader asked calmly.

"Because we don't want to." Kiri snarled at him as she said it, crossing her arms over her chest.

Hayato saw it coming. Something bad was going to happen. And Kiri was the one to start it this time.

"Why ever not?" the one on the left questioned.

"Because." Kiri refused to say anything else. Well, not that she knew any other reason why she didn't want to talk to them. She simply just didn't want to.

"Because why?" baka 2 insisted.

"We just don't want to talk to you." Mitsu dead panned.

"Period." Maki emphasized, finishing Mitsu's point.

"That's too bad." baka leader shook his head. "We just wanted to know your names."

"It is too bad, because you won't find out." Saya smirked mockingly.

Baka leader looked at her with slight agitation written on his face.

Sayo was putting the cds back where they belonged and unplugging the radio by now.

"Are you sure you want to talk back to us tonight?" baka 2 asked with a devilish smirk.

"Yeah, why?" Maki asked, placing her hands on her hips in a defiant way, as well as cocking her head to the right a little to finish off the look.

"Because." baka 1 started, smirking as the leader took over for him.

"Your Kurogin boys aren't here to save you."

Hayato, Ryu, and Sayo heard that, and their irritation grew. Hayato and Ryu because the idiot had the wrong idea about the girls' relationship with their group. Sayo because the bastard was implying that they were weak. Of course, the latter reason bothered her too.

Sayo finished wrapping up the radio cords and stood up, her back still towards the girls' backs. Baka leader caught sight of her and his face gained a satisfied smile.

"So, you are here tonight."

Sayo didn't reply, she just stood there waiting for him to say something stupid and thoughtless again. Oh how she wished for him to piss her off some more.

"Come on, can't I at least have your name, my feisty Momojo?"

Sayo cringed when she heard him call her 'his Momojo'. That freaked her out.

Hayato and Ryu looked mildly disgusted by the idiots use of words towards Sayo.

"I don't think so." Kiri quickly intervened his question once she heard what he called Sayo.

He didn't say anything in return, just looked at Kiri questioningly.

"She isn't yours." Mitsu stated clearly, Kiri isn't the best when it comes to being clear.

"Well, what should I have called her?" he asked.

"You can't call her anything." Maki sad calmly.

"I would say call her by her name, but you don't know it." Saya mocked him with a smirk.

He only glared at Saya briefly then returned his sights on Sayo. "Please my princess, what is your name so I can call you by it."

Sayo clenched both her fists by her sides and struggled to contain the irritation that was building inside her. Oh how she wanted to knock his block off right then and there. But she tried to remain calm for as long as she could.

"Come on sexy, tell him your name." baka 1 smirked, thinking this was the best way to get her to say something.

So not.

"Yeah, we're dyin' to know." baka 2 smirked as well. Maybe she'd turn around if she really thought they were dying.

Of course not.

"Liar." Juri muttered.

The lackey's antics only pushed Sayo to her limits. She almost thought she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Yes *cough*, I want my last hearing *cough cough* to be your name *wheeze* and your name *cough* only." baka leader acted dramatically to try to convince her.

It would never work.

The 'almost' quickly turned into a 'definitely'. Sayo then turned around swiftly and made her way to inches in front of the idiotic leader.

Ryu and Hayato hadn't seen that coming. They figured that she was getting mad, but they weren't expecting her to lash out at him again. But, she did last time. It could get worse this time around. They made their way cautiously to the two groups, paying close attention to what was happening.

"Listen you." Sayo started, eyes almost burning holes into the moron. "Your acting skills suck, I'm not one of those Kurogin guys' girlfriend, and I'm definitely not yours!"

"So, who are you?" he had a small smile on his face, which just pissed her off even more.

"No one of your concern. Oh wait," she turned her head thoughtfully as the sarcastic words came from her mouth. "I'm the one who's ready to kick your ass if you don't leave me alone!" she raised her voice a little, but not to an alarming note. That'd just be bad.

"Wow, that's harsh for a girl who's being fawned over."

"I do not wish to be fawned over by an ass like you." she snapped.

Hayato and Ryu were getting closer now. Juri and Mitsu had seen the two. They were surprised to see them there.

"Oh?" baka 2 blinked with a smirk.

"Then, perhaps, you'd rather those Kurogin boys fawn over you than us?" baka 1 asked with his hand on his chin and a smirk on his lips as well.

"Eh?" Sayo breathed almost inaudibly, her face rigid. She couldn't believe she had just been asked that question.

"I'd rather have those guys than you freaks." Kiri remarked, fully disgusted by their attitude.

Sayo blinked an gazed at Kiri after hearing what she said.

"Me too." Maki added.

"Count me in." Mitsu complied, Juri nodded her head in silence.

Saya and Sayo both gathered their bearings. This might be a hard thing for them to admit, but at least the guys weren't around, right?

At the same time they both inhaled. "I'd rather have them fawning over me." and then exhaled.

"They're a lot easier on the eyes than you three are." Saya added with distaste.

Hayato and Ryu stopped in their tracks. Had they heard correctly? Was the Earth spinning off it's axis? Or did they really just hear Saya admit that their group was good-looking? They stared at her in disbelief.

The group of idiots blinked a few times to realize what had just happened.

"Wow." baka 2 mumbled.

"That's amazing." baka 1 mumbled a few seconds later.

"I must say," baka leader began to act dramatically again. "You have truly hurt me this time."

"Well, I'm sure you'll get over it." Sayo dead panned.

Hayato and Ryu finally snapped out of their little trance hearing Sayo's comment. They refocused on the situation at hand, and cautiously made their way towards the girls again.

"Look, I'm tired of playing with you." baka leader got serious all of a sudden. Apparently he had grown tired of Sayo's attitude.

"Ok."

"I want you to be my girl, end of story." he explained in a dark tone, getting closer to her face.

Sayo leaned back and scrunched her nose in disgust. "Well, tough luck."

"Hm?"

"I won't be you girl. And that's that." Sayo almost found herself purposely saying something so she could spit on his face. It was way too close for her comfort, but there wasn't really anywhere else for her to move to.

"I won't take no for an answer."

"I don't care. No is my answer." Sayo repeated, as much as she hated doing so.

"Oh well, I guess you're just gonna choose the hard way aren't you?" he asked.

"Get away from me now." the 'now' was emphasized slightly and her brows were furrowed.

"I just want to be your man."

"I just want you away from my face." Sayo raised her voice a little bit.

Hayato and Ryu heard her clearly that time. Their irritation grew. The guy just doesn't know how to treat a girl right does he?

"But I want to be up close and personal with you."

Sayo closed her eyes and tried to breathe steadily.

"Won't you just leave her be?" Mitsu asked, irritation evident in her voice.

"He doesn't want to." baka 2 stuck his tongue out at her.

Seeing that she balled her fist and threatened him.

"Oh, we're so scared of a little girl." baka 1 mocked fear. He obviously had already forgotten the punch his leader friend got from Sayo the last time they encountered each other.

"Really now?" Saya scoffed in disbelief.

"I don't recall you being so manly last time." Kiri added, smirking with her chin up.

"Me either." Maki added.

"Same here." Juri squeaked out.

"Yeah, you ran away with your tails between your legs, if I remember correctly." Mitsu smirked triumphantly.

"We didn't run." baka 1 declared, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah, we walked away." baka 2 added.

"We only left after those Kurogin idiots showed up anyway, not because my darling punched me in the face." baka leader informed in a semi-regal way, trying to keep himself somewhat composed.

"Keep calling me pet names and you'll have another fist in your face!" Sayo threatened, and Saya jumped onto her arms, holding her back.

"Oh, she wants to be aggressive with me." baka leader smiled sadistically.

"I'll be more than aggressive." Sayo mumbled under her breath.

"Well, if you want to be aggressive, be aggressive with me." he held his arms out as if welcoming her fury.

"Gladly." Sayo murmured darkly.

"Sayo…" Saya whispered harshly into her cousin's ear.

"What?" Sayo's tone was still dark.

"You're not gonna like this…" Saya had finally seen Hayato and Ryu coming towards them.

"What?" Sayo was getting impatient. She was ready to lay it on this idiot.

"Never mind." Saya shook her head lightly and returned her attention to the situation at hand.

By now, all the girls but Sayo had seen Hayato and Ryu coming towards the group slowly. They also noticed that the two didn't seem too happy either.

Hayato and Ryu were expecting Sayo to be extremely angry with the moron in front of her by now, so they weren't surprised when Saya let go of her cousin.

Sayo went feral and drove her fist into his stomach. After he doubled over, she stood breathing heavily, deciding what she would do next.

"Ow…" the idiot mumbled through hitched breaths.

"Leader!" the other two were cowering behind him.

Sayo heaved a sigh and then let her foot fly to his side. His hand instantly flew to the spot as soon as her foot left the vicinity.

"That's enough." Ryu called suddenly.

Sayo blinked a few times and her head shot in the direction Ryu's voice came from. She was totally surprised that the two of them were there. Then she felt slightly agitated that they were stopping her.

"Yeah, he isn't worth it." Hayato added.

Sayo thought for a moment and then looked at the imbecile on his knees in front of her. "I guess you're right." she agreed, smirking lightly.

"You three should just leave before she loses it again." Hayato advised them.

The two minions nodded vigorously and quickly helped up their leader. After he was stable, they trotted off with him muttering curses at Hayato and Ryu.

Ryu watched them leave. Once they were out of view, he turned his attention to the girls.

"You wouldn't happen to be following us around would you?" Mitsu asked the two curiously.

"Nah, this is just a coincidence, honest." Hayato waved his hand in front of his face.

Sayo wanted to just walk away in a huff, she was still pissed. Saya, seeing this, watched the others carry on for a few minutes.

Hayato felt like talking, so he had been telling the girls about what had happened to them earlier that day. "We plan to tell Yamaguchi that we won't fight before graduation."

"Wow, that's a kind promise to your teacher." Juri smiled sweetly.

Oddly enough, Sayo's phone vibrated in her pocket, and startled her. "Ah!"

All eyes shot to her out of curiosity.

"Forgot your phone was in your pocket?" Saya chuckled.

"Yeah…" Sayo admitted and fished it out.

The girls laughed lightly at her and began to continue their conversation with Hayato.

Sayo read the message she had gotten and her eyes widened at the end. "No way…" she mumbled.

Saya turned to her. "What?"

Sayo didn't say anything but only shoved her phone in front of Saya. She leaned over the screen and read carefully. At the end, her eyes widened too. "No way…"

"Right?" Sayo chuckled at the irony.

"What's up Sayo?" Kiri asked after she turned around.

"Well…" Saya started cautiously. She wasn't sure, for one, if Sayo wanted Hayato or Ryu to know about this, and two, if something like this should be said in public space like this. She gazed to Sayo.

"Um… I gotta get home. Sorry." Sayo flipped her phone shut and smiled. She went to turn around, but stopped half way and looked over her shoulder at Ryu. "Ano, Odagiri-kun."

"Hai?"

"Thanks for stopping me earlier. That probably wouldn't have been a good thing." Sayo smiled sincerely at him and then turned around and left in a hurry.

"Betsu ni." he answered.

Hearing that, Sayo chuckled a little and continued on.

Hayato waved bye to the girls and the two took off.

"So, what was with that message she got?" Maki asked once the guys were out of sight.

"Well…" Saya looked around and then motioned for them to huddle together with her. "Takeshi is going to use her and his girlfriend as models in a special article photo shoot. His girlfriend's writing the article."

"Wow!" the girls gasped.

"Yeah." Saya smiled. "But, you have to keep it a secret for now, okay?"

The girls nodded vigorously, and after their 'see you tomorrow' s, they left for home.


	7. Chapter 4

_Hey, so I added the links to the outfits ^^ yay~ Just take out the spaces..._

_Sorry to spam you like this, but I felt it really needed to be done. Enjoy~_

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* * *

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**Chapter 4: Let's Move On, Please.**

Later that very week, Yankumi began getting on her students about their futures and what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Of course, Yabuki almost blew her cover once. She so wanted to kill him. After that, the whole class played around with her when she did a mock interview for Hamaguchi, Omori, Tsuchiya, and Kojima. But, as usual, they turned the situation on her so she had to give them an example of an interview. How pleasant. Tsuchiya and Hyuga wore glasses that had big plastic noses on them to freak her out. Hyuga also had his uniform jacket tied around his neck by the sleeves so it looked like a cape of some sort. Take just put on a pair of round glasses. Ryu sat unenthusiastically to the side, slouching in his chair, round glasses on the desk where he was to write fake notes on Yankumi down. Yabuki looked like a couple's counselor that didn't want to help the couple, but make sure they drifted further apart. When she entered the room, she was shocked by their changes of appearance.

But she quickly lost her temper and the whole thing was off. Later on, she started looking for jobs for the whole class with a burning intent of success. That very night, the guys decided to promise to Yankumi that they wouldn't fight anyone before they graduated.

A few hours after they planned to promise Yankumi that, later that very same night, Hayato and Ryu ran into the girls and the three morons who had tried to pick them up weeks ago. They ended up leaving after Sayo took down their leader again.

So, the guys, even though Hayato had told the girls about their little promise with Yankumi, they weren't expecting two of them to show up to the site where they were being beaten up at. Of course they figured Yankumi would come, but not them.

See, what happened was, after Sayo left, she went straight to her cousin's house. On her way she mailed her mom, even though she figured Takeshi already had done so, but she sent it just in case.

Saya and the other girls made their ways home, murmuring to themselves about what had just come up for Sayo.

It took her a while to get to Takeshi's place, but she made it there around ten thirty at night. She knocked on the door to his condo and waited for him to answer the door. She heard a faint 'coming' come from behind the door and some feet shuffling around the living room.

She had been to his condo before, but it had been a while since then. She remembered his living room had a couch that folded out to be a bed. His bedroom was a nice contemporary, modern room with soothing colors which made it easy to fall asleep in. He had a kitchenette, which was just enough for him. There was also a bathroom for his bedroom and a half bath in the front by the living room and the balcony. The laundry room was by the front entrance hallway, kind of looks like a closet at first.

The shuffling feet came closer to the door and a few seconds later the door clicked, signaling the unlocking of the contraption which was considered his lock. Then the door swung open, revealing Noda Takeshi in sweat pants and a t-shirt with slippers on his feet. He smiled at the sight of Sayo.

"Come on in." he said as he held his arm out towards the hallway so she could enter.

"Thanks. Ojamashimasu." Sayo slid her shoes off and slipped on the guest slippers that Takeshi kept by the door for, well, guests.

"So, you'll be staying till tomorrow right?" he asked after she tossed her bag on the couch, which was already unfolded into her temporary bed.

"Yeah, I sent mom an email." Sayo smiled again as she looked back at him.

"You seem a bit different than normal. Is something up? Or did something happen recently?" Takeshi questioned with a small smile, and he thought for a second before she answered. "Well, besides what I told you about."

"Well, I've been having a lot of fun dancing with the girls in Ginza recently, if that's what you mean." Sayo made her way to the fridge.

"Anything else?"

"Hmm…" Sayo bent over with the fridge door open, searching for a bottle of water. "I guess you could say something has." she grabbed the water bottle and smirked after she pushed the door shut, facing Takeshi again.

"What could that be?" he was smirking too.

"I met up with Kumiko-sempai and found out that my Kumiko-sempai is your Yankumi." she smiled fully now.

Takeshi looked surprised. "Eh?"

Sayo only nodded slowly.

"Yankumi? You knew Yankumi before I did?" Takeshi tried to process this but found himself to be slightly unsuccessful. "How could that happen?"

"Well, remember when my parents lived in Kamiyama-chou?" she asked, smile still there.

"Yeah."

"That was when I met her. She was the one who taught me martial arts, remember?" she was trying to jog his memory now.

"Oh yeah. Yankumi really taught you that stuff?" Takeshi seemed a tad bit confused. "No wonder the style seemed a bit familiar but it never really caught my attention much back then." he trailed off thinking back to his high school days.

"Well, anyway. She's teaching at the school across from my school." Sayo informed as she finished off the bottle she grabbed and was now heading for the recycling bin.

"Really?" Takeshi looked up at her again.

Sayo nodded her head and tossed the bottle into the bin.

"It's a small world." he muttered, though Sayo heard him.

"It certainly is." she agreed.

"Hah." Takeshi shrugged it off and watched Sayo for a few minutes.

"Oh, I don't have anything to change into, can I borrow a shirt?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Sayo walked into his room and shut the door behind her. She went straight to his small dresser and pulled out a long, baggy t-shirt. Quickly changing and making sure the shirt stayed on her shoulders and covered enough of her legs, she made her way back to the door with her clothes in tow.

Takeshi was standing next to the couch watching the night news before bed. Sayo opened the door and continued to the couch. She tossed her clothes onto her bag and climbed into the bed. Takeshi glanced down at her for a few seconds then went back to the television.

"Have you met any guys recently?" he asked out of nowhere.

Sayo nearly choked on the air around her. "Huh!" she hacked.

Takeshi chuckled a little and returned his sights to her. "Well?"

"Um…" Sayo colored and lowered her face, focusing intently on the sheets over her lower half.

Takeshi noticed her coloring and smirked. He slid over to behind her and bent over the back of the couch so he could see her face. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Geez, first Kumiko-sempai and now you…" Sayo mumbled, shutting her eyes.

"What happened with Yankumi?"

"She thought Ryu and I were having a moment at her house a couple weeks ago and let out a squeal." Sayo muttered darkly. "She thinks I like him."

"Do you?" he asked seriously this time.

"I…" Sayo opened her eyes just enough to see the sheets being scrunched up by her fists that were trying to close. "I don't know…"

"Hmm." Takeshi pushed himself off the couch and ruffled the top of her hair a little. "Well, don't think about it too much."

Sayo just turned around as much as she could and looked at him curiously.

"Just get a good nights sleep and be ready for tomorrow, okay?" he smiled.

"Mm." she nodded her head.

"Oyasumi." he called before shutting his door.

"Oyasumi." she whispered and sunk down into the bed, drifting slowly into dreamland.

* * *

The next morning, the girls were sitting in the back of the music room at their school, talking about Sayo's big opportunity.

"What do you think the article will be about?" Juri asked Saya, a small smile on her face.

Kiri was running a little late again.

"I'm not sure…" Saya then began thinking hard about all the possibilities.

"What do you think she'll be told to wear?" Mitsu smirked at all the possibilities.

"Who knows…" Maki shrugged.

"Well, whatever he puts her in, it won't look bad, that's for sure." Saya smiled.

"Why do you sound so confident, Saya-chan?" Juri inquired curiously.

"Well…" Saya started, but was interrupted.

Just then, Kiri burst through the door. "Sorry, overslept…"

"Typical." the girls sang out, amusement in their voices.

"Be quiet." Kiri muttered as she took her seat near the group. "So, what were you going to say Saya-chan?"

"Well, I was just about to explain why Takeshi-kun wouldn't make Sayo look bad fashion wise in the photo shoot." Saya explained in a level tone.

"Oh, okay. Explain away then." Kiri smirked playfully.

"Alright." Saya nodded. "Takeshi-kun, before he went into photography, he wanted to have his own fashion line."

"Wow, that's interesting." Maki let out.

"He still wants his own fashion line, but he's settled for photography for now while he gets the rest of his qualifications." Saya continued.

"He's really committed isn't he?" Mitsu chuckled a little.

"Yeah, he is committed. To his girlfriend, his work, his dreams, and his friends." Saya smiled as she thought of the stories she and Sayo had heard from him about his days in Shirokin.

"Eh…" Kiri gasped with a smirk.

Saya blinked a couple times and looked at Kiri curiously. "What?"

"You really hold him in high regard, don't you?" Juri asked sweetly.

Saya shifted her gaze to Juri, and nodded. "Well, yeah, I mean…"Saya paused and looked out the window, a distant, solemn expression on her face. "he's always helped us out as much as he could."

"Eh? Is that so?" Maki looked a tad bit curious now.

"Yeah." Saya nodded, a smile creeping onto her face.

"How did he help you two?" Mitsu inquired, pursing her lips in anticipation afterwards.

"Well…" Saya turned back to the girls and thought hard for a few seconds. "He's helped us out of a few situations in our past that involved fighting."

"Really?" Maki's eyes widened.

Saya only nodded with a small smile on her face.

"Eh…" Kiri breathed again. "I can't believe Sayo's going to be in a magazine."

"Yeah, it's kind of exciting." Juri chuckled lightly.

"You know…" Saya murmured.

"Not kind of, Juri-chan." Mitsu corrected, totally ignoring Saya.

"Really exciting." Maki finished for Mitsu.

"She's been in a magazine before…" Saya let out thoughtfully. "So have I."

All four of the girls turned to Saya with shocked expressions. "Eh!"

Saya looked over at them indifferently.

* * *

Tsuchi heaved in a long breath, and sighed it out. "I'm so bored."

"Me too." Hyuga agreed nodding his head.

Take only sighed and nodded his head.

They were in their first period without Yankumi and all the games they had to play had become tiresome. Ryu just sat quietly in his seat facing the blackboard ahead of them. Hayato had his head bent all the way back and was staring at the ceiling.

"I wonder what the girls are doing right now…" Take mumbled, mostly to himself, but the others heard him and thought hard about that.

"Hmm…." Hyuga furrowed his eyebrows and stared hard at his poor desktop.

"Good question." Tsuchi added and halfway folded his arms so he could still fan himself whilst thinking.

Ryu ignored the question and continued with his inner thoughts, whatever they were… And Hayato secretly thought about the question while continuing to stare the life out of the ceiling.

Misawa had heard the question as well and debated with himself if he should tell them what the girls had planned to do. After five minutes of arguing with himself, he finally decided to turn around and tell them. "Um… I know what they might be doing right now…" he interrupted all of their trains of thought.

They all blinked a couple times and then looked at Misawa, waiting for what he was going to say. Once he knew he had their attention, he smirked a little. "They're probably helping out Saya-chan's mom at school."

"Why would they do that?" Tsuchi looked confused. Why go to school if you don't have to?

"Well, I just know that they were planning on doing that. If they actually ended up doing it, I have no idea." Misawa added.

"Hmm…" Take thought some more.

Hayato and Ryu returned their gazes to their previous locations and continued to think.

Hyuga rested his head on his desk. "I'm still bored."

All the others nodded in agreement with him.

* * *

Sayo and Takeshi were on their way to the studio. Of course, Sayo was back in her school uniform, as she didn't have anything else to wear except the street clothes she was in when she got to his apartment the previous night. Takeshi on the other hand, wore a white button up shirt with three buttons at the top undone, a pair of washed blue jeans, and black dress shoes on his feet. All of his equipment was in the back seat of the car.

Sayo had her eyes closed, she was still a little tired from dancing. Takeshi eyed her for a moment out of the corner of his eyes and smirked. It took them a few minutes before they reached their destination.

"We're here Sayo-chan." Takeshi announced as he opened his door.

Sayo opened her eyes and looked out her window at the tall ten story building towering next to the street. She smiled and opened her door.

Takeshi had closed his door and moved to the back door. "Help me get the equipment, okay?"

Sayo turned around, "Sure." she smiled and opened the back door as well.

Takeshi grabbed the camera with the film while Sayo grabbed the tripod. Both of them were being extremely careful. Sayo knew how much Takeshi's camera and equipment meant to him.

They slammed the car doors shut, Sayo winced a little at the loud bang it made. She hadn't intended to slam it at all, but both their hands were full and apparently they used too much force.

Takeshi made his way to the double doors of the set building as Sayo looked on at the car doors worriedly. He got five steps away and the doors slammed open, revealing his girlfriend. She smiled at him, looking mainly at his hands filled with his camera and the film.

He continued in without saying anything, only smirking at her. Sayo turned around with her eyes closed while sighing. When she opened them, she was a tad startled to find Tanaka Miku, Takeshi's girlfriend. She quickly regained herself and smiled at the older woman. Miku smiled heartily at them and held the door open for Takeshi as he carried in his equipment.

"Could you grab the laptop?" he asked as he passed her.

"Sure, I don't mind." she let the door go after Takeshi was through and made her way over to the car.

"I didn't know you would be here this early Miku-san." Sayo greeted.

"Well, I had to check the place out for Takeshi since you were with him. I knew he'd be a little later than he usually is." Miku explained as she opened the car door and retrieved the laptop from the floorboard of the back seat.

"Oh…" Sayo frowned a little realizing she was a slight burden to Takeshi. "Well, I'm sorry…" she apologized, sounding a little guilty.

Miku shut the door as Sayo said that. She felt a little bad herself for saying what she did. "Oh, you don't have to apologize Sayo-chan." Miku smiled.

"Eh?" Sayo blinked as Miku walked by her to the front door of the building.

"I wasn't exactly thinking about what I was saying a second ago." Miku explained as she grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. "Takeshi asked me to come before him to scope out the place because he knew he'd have you with him."

"Oh…" Sayo nodded slowly as they both entered the building.

"We're on the third floor." Miku informed as she headed towards the elevator.

"Really?" Sayo questioned.

Her only answer was a nod of the head from Miku as they entered the elevator together. Miku, being the only one with free hands, pushed the button for floor three.

A few seconds of elevator music and silence went by and they were on the third floor. The doors opened to reveal a large, bare room with Takeshi in the middle. He looked back at the two indifferently and then turned back to studying the room's properties.

"It's pretty good in size." he commented after his sights returned to in front of him. "Good job Miku-chan."

"Thanks." Miku smirked as she made her way to his side with the laptop. "Here."

"Ah, thanks." Takeshi delicately placed the laptop on the floor.

Sayo slowly made her way to the two, admiring the room's largeness on her way. "Wow…" she whispered.

"Oh, you'll have to go park your car in a parking space Takeshi-kun." Miku informed Takeshi before he got too deep into anything.

"Ah, alright."

"Sayo-chan." Miku called over to the bewildered girl carrying the tripod.

Sayo suddenly came back to what she was there for. "Ah! Yes?"

"Come on over, we'll set up the tripod together." Miku smiled warmly.

Sayo smiled wider, and nodded her head. "Hai."

Takeshi was already in the elevator. Sayo finally reached Miku and they set up the tripod, but didn't place the camera on it just yet. Miku knew that was something Takeshi always did, no matter what.

"This room is just so…" Sayo was at a loss for words.

"I guess this is your first time seeing a room this large totally empty, huh?" Miku chuckled a little.

"Yeah…" Sayo looked down at her feet sheepishly.

"That's why I chose you for this project." Miku said out of nowhere.

Sayo looked up mildly surprised. "Huh?"

Miku smirked. "You're so honest."

Sayo was a little shocked by that little comment, but then she looked to be a little disappointed. She had thought back to the way she felt when Ryu looked at her. "If only I could be honest about that though…" she mumbled with her head down.

"Eh?" Miku blinked curiously.

Unfortunately, Takeshi walked in right then so Miku couldn't ask about it.

"Okay, when is the crew getting here with everything else?" he asked Miku, sounding a little displeased about the lack of timing they all had.

"Um…" Miku thought hard for a few seconds. "I'm not sure…"

Takeshi looked very displeased with that answer. He was in total business mode now. Miku eyed him and quickly made a decision.

"I'll call them now to see where they are." Miku made her way to a large window near the elevator. "I hope they aren't lost or anything…" she murmured to herself.

Sayo heard Takeshi muttering things to himself in a devilish tone. She looked at him with semi-wide eyes and was suddenly glad she was on his good side. She sighed, seeing as she really had nothing to do at the moment.

A loud clack was heard followed by an exhausted sigh. Sayo looked over to Miku, saw the look on her face, and had a bad feeling something bad was going to happen if the other crew members don't get here soon. Sayo stepped lightly over to Miku with a curious look on her face.

"They're not lost, are they?" she asked in a hushed tone so Takeshi couldn't hear her.

"No." Miku shook her head.

"Then…" Sayo hesitated, thinking a bit more before speaking again. "What happened?" was the safest thing that came out of her mouth.

Miku eyed Takeshi for a few seconds before leaning in towards Sayo to whisper to her. "They slept in like idiots."

Sayo's eyes widened and she turned her head to Miku.

"Takeshi can't know." Miku sternly whispered, which made it a little funny sounding. "They're almost here now though." Miku stood straight again with a smile on her face.

"I see." Sayo mumbled, eyes heading toward the ground, still wide in shock. She knew how Takeshi could get when he was angry, so she didn't even want to think about the possibilities here.

"Well?" Takeshi huffed impatiently, setting up his laptop with a new folder for the shoot while hooking it up to the camera.

"They're almost here." Miku informed him smiling as she made her way over to him.

"Good." Takeshi said under his breath.

"Ah," Miku turned swiftly on her heels, realizing that Sayo had no idea about the article's theme. "Sayo-chan."

Sayo blinked a few times as she realized her name was being called. As she looked up towards Miku she answered. "Hai?"

Miku walked as she talked. "I'm going to inform you of the article's theme and what the interview will be like." she smiled as she stood next the girl in uniform.

"Oh." Sayo blinked a few times again. "Okay." she smiled.

"Why don't we go to the dressing room to talk so we don't disturb Takeshi-kun?" Miku suggested in a hushed tone since Takeshi was immersed in his camera workings right at the moment.

Sayo only nodded her head and the two headed for their shared dressing room. It was a shared dressing room because the two of them were the models for the shoot today. So it was technically their temporary room.

Once the door was shut behind them, they took seats in the chairs by the large vanity mirrors on the walls surrounded by lights that would burn your retina if you stared too long. Sayo looked around the room before Miku started speaking. It had a couch, some potpourri to keep a fresh smell in it, a clothing rack to hang your outfits on, a small water dispenser with a full gallon bottle on it ready to go, and a small coffee table. And of course, the last bit of the room was the wall with the mirrors for the preparation of make-up.

"So," Miku started, "the interview will be your take on relationships as a modern high school girl." she said enthusiastically with a beaming smile. "The name of the article is 'A Modern High School Girl's View On Relationships'".

"Interesting." Sayo nodded as she thought hard for a minute or so. "But wait, why did you choose me? I'm not technically a normal high school girl you know." Sayo reasoned. "You and I know each other personally."

"Yeah, but you are still a modern high school girl with views on all sorts of relationships aren't you?" Miku smiled a smile that said 'it's true and you know it'.

"Well, yeah but…" Sayo hesitated for a second. "Why me? Shouldn't you have chosen someone you don't know?"

"I could have, but I'd prefer the interview to be less intense." Miku nodded in understanding of Sayo's point. "Come on, you know it would be difficult for any reporter to interview a complete stranger about what they think of all kinds of relationships." she pointed out.

She did have a point there. "Mm." Sayo nodded in understanding. "So, how did you get your editor to accept me?"

"Well," Miku thought, then a little smile played her features. "my editor knows your father from way back and they both agreed to let you go through with this."

"I figured it was something crazy like that…" Sayo sighed.

"That's not a bad thing you know." Miku comforted Sayo by patting her head a little.

Sayo only nodded once at that.

Then in a hurry, the make-up artists rushed in like the building was on fire or something, tools in hand. All their bags were bouncing up and down on their backs. It honestly didn't sound good for their equipment. The hairstylists followed after them. Bags bouncing as well.

"Sorry we're late, Miku-san." the first in managed to get out after she let the bags slide off her shoulder onto the couch. The others followed suit. Then, before anyone could say anything else, they started rummaging through the bags for the tools, foundation, eye shadow, everything they needed to prep the girls for the shoot.

"Wait, Takeshi-kun hasn't even picked out our outfits yet!" Miku sounded a bit panicked as she saw the foundation and straightening irons.

"He's doing that as we speak." the head make-up artist, Aihara, informed her as she came closer with the big pack containing eye shadow, eye liner pencils, blush, and foundation. A different lady, Fujiwara, came up to Sayo with the same thing in hand.

"Let's get to work girls." she said as she turned Sayo's head straight toward the mirror forcefully.

"Eek." Sayo let out under her breath, fearing what was coming to her face.

"This is going to be pure torture…" Miku muttered in a dreadful tone which scared Sayo even more so than she already was. Her eyes widened in horror just thinking about it.

"What have I gotten myself into?" she mumbled to herself as the first powder puff hit her cheek.

* * *

By now the first four chorus classes had come and gone in the blink of an eye. The girls were having fun watching all their kohais sing a bunch of songs they had sang before. Since it wasn't their class, they weren't allowed to participate, so they all sang under their breath, so they didn't screw up the others singing.

It was time for lunch and the girls were sitting in the classroom, watching all the girls scatter out on the campus grounds into their little cliques and groups. Some were studying, some were reading, some were goofing off, and others were actually eating.

"Ah! I'm so hungry…" Kiri complained as she watched bento after bento go by the classroom doors.

"Well, we don't really have any way to get lunch…" Saya mumbled, examining their situation.

"Eh?" Kiri threatened to cry when she heard that.

"Now now Kiri-chan…" Juri sweat dropped, patting Kiri's back.

Mitsu and Maki had left for work earlier. Kiri was supposed to work in a little bit too. Saya thought a little more about what their possibilities were.

"Hmm…" Saya mumbled again, her fist on her chin, brow furrowed as she continued her thought process.

"Saya-chan?" Juri looked at the girl curiously.

"I'll be back in a few minutes ok?" Saya told the two as she made her way to the door.

"Ok…" Juri nodded as her mind reeled. What could she be up to?

"Man!" Kiri cried holding her stomach, her face showing slight exhaustion.

Saya made her way down the hallway to the faculty and staff room. She was looking for her mother. She peeked her head in a little and scanned the office thoroughly.

She saw the Vice Principal, the Science Teacher, the English Teacher, her second year Phys. Ed. Teacher, and the Mathematics Teacher. The next desk was her mother's, and she was there.

Saya sighed in relief and stood up straight to enter the room. "Excuse me…" she called a little timidly.

The teachers all looked to the entrance and saw her. Ayumi stood once she saw her daughter and walked slowly over to her, knowing Saya was there for her. She led her out of the room with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"What is it?" Ayumi asked gently with a motherly smile.

"Is it alright if we leave a little early today?"

"Well, I don't see why not. Why do you ask?" Ayumi was now curious.

"Kiri-chan is hungry and I was thinking about going to get something to eat with her and Juri-chan." Saya explained. "Besides, Kiri-chan will be leaving for work soon anyway."

"Yes, that's true." Ayumi looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment or so. "Alright, you girls can leave for today." she looked back down at Saya with a smile and handed her a few bills for lunch money.

"Thanks." Saya smiled, accepted the cash, and turned to leave.

"Make sure you're home earlier than you were yesterday alright!" Ayumi called at her daughter's back before she got away.

"Gotcha!" Saya answered while waving her hand above her head at her mom.

"Girls…" Ayumi sighed, watching Saya disappear. After she was out of sight, Ayumi went back into the faculty room to finish her lunch and prep for the next class.

Saya came back into the classroom beaming with plenty of positive energy. She made her way to the girls hurriedly. "We can go get lunch at a restaurant or something."

"Maji de!" Kiri's eyes sparkled like stars in the sky, her mouth began to water a bit, and her hands were clasped together.

"Maji." Saya nodded with a giant smile on her face.

"Where should we go then?" Juri inquired thoughtfully.

"Hmm…. Good question." Kiri nodded her head, as she turned to her normal face. "We should change before we leave though."

"Yeah, I'm a little bored of the uniform." Juri looked down at her clothing with squinted eyes and puckered lips.

"Yeah, I'd rather the guys look at us for us instead of what school we go to." Kiri mentioned lightly, pulling her skirt out a little.

Saya looked over at Kiri with wide eyes and a small smile on her lips. "You really want guys to look at you?" she mumbled under her breath.

"Let's go change so we can leave before class starts again." Juri suggested.

The girls all looked over at her and nodded. They grabbed their bags before heading to the bathrooms to change.

* * *

The guys were on the rooftop skipping class. Hyuga, Take and Tsuchi were talking about things that made no sense. Most of it was cracking jokes. Hayato was listening but not joining in. He laughed at quite a few of the jokes they told. Ryu was trying to take a nap. Obviously, trying wasn't an option because the others were being so loud. So he stood up in surrender and watched the scenery from the roof with a blank stare.

Of course, it didn't take long for that blank stare to turn into a questioning one. Right before Hyuga was about to start a knock knock joke, the girls had walked out of the school in casual clothes instead of their uniform. Hayato noticed the change in Ryu's face out of the corners of his eyes and looked to see for himself.

"Hey, it's the girls…" Hayato mumbled in surprise.

That caught Take's attention. "Really?" he hopped to his feet and leaned over the edge. "Wow, I've never seen Kiri-chan in something like that before."

"Did you say Kiri-chan? Are the other girls with her?" Hyuga joined next to Take.

"Well?" Tsuchi prodded, fanning himself and taking his time.

"Yeah, Saya-chan and Juri-chan are with her." Hayato answered the question.

"But Sayo-chan isn't with them." Ryu muttered in place of Hayato, since the idiot hadn't seemed to notice quite yet.

"Oh yeah, Sayo-chan isn't there." Take nodded his head slowly.

All the gears in their brains were turning. Why was Ryu the first to notice instead of them again? Did he really care about the girls but just not show it openly? Who knew.

"I wonder if she's still wherever she went last night…" Tsuchi thought out loud.

Ryu's eye twitched when he heard that come out of Tsuchi's mouth. It put him on edge. After all, they don't know where she went or what she was going to do.

"Maybe she met with some guy." Hyuga joked with a cat-like smirk on his face.

Ryu's eye twitched a second time and Hayato saw it this time. He looked a tad bit shocked that Ryu, of all people, Ryu's eye was twitching from a remark like that. Such actions make one wonder, you know.

"That's not a funny joke." Take chastised Hyuga with an un-amused face.

"But, the girls look really good right now." Tsuchi changed the subject. "I wonder where they're going…"

"Maybe they're on their way to lunch or something." Take guessed.

"Maybe." Hayato added in.

"Probably." Ryu finally said something else. Although, it didn't really help the situation any.

"So, what should we do after school today?" Hayato walked away from the edge, arms folded behind his head and eyes closed.

"Hmm…" the others thought hard and moved away from the edge as well.

Ryu stayed though. He was still interested in staring at nothing at all.

"I think we should look for some jobs, what do you say?" Take offers enthusiastically after an intense brainstorm.

"Yeah, we can grab some magazines and search the job ads." Hyuga smiled, agreeing with Take.

Tsuchi only nodded his head.

"Yeah, I guess we could. At Café de Rovne." Hayato finished.

Ryu saw this as the end of the conversation, as the others' voices faded into the distance. He followed them down stairs back to the classroom.

* * *

After the girls had lunch, Kiri headed off to work. Mitsu had finished her shift for the day, so she was with Juri and Saya. Sayo still hadn't returned from the photo shoot yet. Saya had tried to call a few times, but Sayo didn't answer so they assumed she was still busy.

It was about 3:30 in the afternoon, the girls were wandering around as students heading to cram school crowded the streets. The girls slipped into the arcade for a little bit to avoid the crowds.

Of course, with their clothes, they attracted much attention from the guys in the arcade.

Juri had on a white t-shirt with a printed sketch of a man with sunglasses in black. Short cuffed jean shorts and cream colored ballet flats. (Link: http:// s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=JuriShorts-1 .jpg )

Mitsu was getting the most looks with her attire, which was a sheer light gray quarter sleeved shirt with a black spaghetti strap shirt under it. Her black shorts stopped at mid thigh, the bottoms rolled up revealing gray leopard print. Her feet were adorned with a pair of black and gray slip-on heels. (Link: http:// s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=MitsuLeopardShorts .jpg )

Saya wasn't paying any attention to the guys who were staring at them, since she was hunched over Tekken 4 intensely fighting a match with the computer. She looked a bit too formal to be in an arcade, since she had on a nice grey long sleeved shirt, elegant white tie up capris, and white peep heels to boot. Who knows, maybe all the attention was going towards her instead of Mitsu. (Link: http:// s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=SayaCapriOufit .jpg )

"I'm a bit bored of this…" Saya muttered after she lost miserably.

"Don't pout Saa-chan…" Juri pleaded lightly.

"Yeah, too many guys are staring at us…" Mitsu observed all the eyes on them. "Let's go to the Zest Cantina and harass Kiri-chan." a twisted smirk played Mitsu's lips.

Saya perked up at that. Kiri was always messing with the other two while they were working and she was off. "I'll go with you."

"I'm going to see Maki-chan, not to harass Kiri-chan." Juri interjected, she never liked being the troublemaker.

"All right." Mitsu balled her right hand into a fist in front of her face and smiled widely, so all her teeth were showing, cynically. She was going to enjoy this.

* * *

Maki and Kiri had been slightly swamped with customers since they had arrived. Maki was busting tables left and right. Kiri was having a really hard time keeping up with the orders Maki was bringing back.

Each girl continuously sighed exhaustedly about every ten minutes. This was not cool at all.

Four different tables left at the same time and the two finally got out a sigh of relief. Though it quickly turned into another exhausted one as they heard the doors open again.

"Welcome." they both chorused, a little unenthusiastically with their eyes closed.

Saya, Mitsu and Juri came down to the bar quietly. Kiri and Maki still had their eyes closed. So, Mitsu took this as a golden opportunity. "That wasn't very enthusiastic you know…" she chastised.

The two girls' eyes flew open upon hearing Mitsu's voice and looked up surprised.

"Why are you guys here?" they both asked in unison. It was a little like when Saya and Sayo answered in unison. Scary.

"I came to harass you like you harass me." Mitsu told them flat out with her arms crossed over her chest defiantly and a conniving grin on her face.

"I came to watch." Saya threw in with a casual grin.

"I came to get some coffee." Juri said sweetly.

Kiri wasn't pleased, they could tell. She knew it was revenge on her and she was dreading it. "Great." she muttered bitterly to herself.

"Thanks Juri-chan." Maki smiled.

The three girls sat down at the bar like usual and Maki made her way to a few tables that were signaling for her. Kiri walked down the bar to a few customers who were signaling for her as well.

The girls sat and chatted among themselves while Maki and Kiri were taking orders, running all over the place.

"So, I know this topic is a little elementary but…" Saya started, staring uncertainly at the bar top. "Have you two seen any guy who's interested you lately?"

Mitsu and Juri seemed a bit surprised from this question, seeing as Saya asked it of all people.

"Well…" Juri started, turning her forward again and looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Not really." she sounded a little disappointed.

"Maybe…" Mitsu shrugged, thinking this might be an opportune time to say something about it.

"Maybe what?" Kiri had come back from the other end of the bar to put together a few cups of coffee.

"What about you Kiri-chan?" Juri asked with a small smile on her face.

"What?" Kiri was a little confused by the question. She continued to pour the coffee while listening.

"Have you seen a guy who's interested you lately?" Saya smirked, Kiri was probably the most boy crazy of their whole group.

"Hmm…" Kiri thought hard as she finished the orders and placed them on the trays. "I'll be right back." and she took off again.

"I don't know…" Mitsu mumbled, getting Juri's attention again.

"Mitsu-chan?" Juri was a little concerned, Mitsu was concentrating a lot harder than she normally does. Ever.

"It could be him…" Mitsu mumbled again, thinking out loud just a bit.

"Could be who?" Kiri interrupted loudly, like a little kid teasing her best friend.

That had startled Mitsu. She jumped and jerked her head toward Kiri with wide eyes.

"Uhm…" Mitsu breathed, debating whether she wanted Kiri to hear or not.

"You didn't answer the question Kiri-chan." Saya sang tauntingly.

"Eh…" Kiri's face contorted in displeasure and embarrassment. She left before answering the question as well.

Maki came back with empty trays sighing. "Man, there's way too many customers today…" she mumbled as she got to the group.

"Well…" Kiri started, looking at the floor as she started to color. "I think, maybe, Tsuchiya-kun would be a fun boyfriend…" she let out in a low voice. Her feelings about guys were things she didn't always like to say first. Usually she waits until she knows the guy a bit more before she can say anything proudly.

"Aw." Saya smiled at Kiri.

"How cute." Juri smiled as well.

"Really, Kiri-chan, that is cute." Maki patted her on the shoulder.

"If Kiri-chan can do it then so can I." Mitsu declared to herself with her fist up by her face.

"Then say it." Saya dead panned.

That remark downed Mitsu's courage and enthusiasm a little bit. "Well…" she closed her eyes, concentrating on what she was going to say and trying not to imagine the reaction she'd get from them. "Maybe Hyuga-kun…" she got it out. Finally.

"Eh, Hyuga-kun huh?" Saya smirked knowingly, nodding her head at the answer. "I can see it."

Mitsu looked up at Saya. "Huh?"

"I can see you and Hyuga-kun together." she still had that knowing smirk on her lips.

"Hey, don't get me wrong." Mitsu tried to defend herself, though there was no reason for it at all. "Tsuchiya-kun is so my type, but it just isn't him…" she trailed off, looking down again.

"I know." Kiri snickered a little.

"What about you Maki-chan?" Juri turned her head to Maki, who was a little confused as to what was going on.

"Hmm?"

"Does Takeda-kun interest you since he fought a college boxer for you?" Saya smirked deviously. Kiri and Mitsu joined quickly, this was so their kind of thing.

Maki looked a tad frightened by the deviousness radiating from the three girls. "Uh…"

Juri sighed in defeat. There was no stopping them now, since they loved to do things like this. She watched from the side lines since there wasn't really anything she could do for poor Maki.

"I guess, a bit…" Maki let out lightly. "Yeah."

Saya didn't say anything, but her smirk turned into a kind smile. Kiri and Mitsu backed down after hey saw how Maki was getting all thoughtful.

Kiri was being signaled by three guys at the end of the bar again and had to go over.

"Good for you Maki-chan." Juri smiled like a little child would.

"Thanks Juri-chan." Maki looked out at the rest of the café. She being signaled again so she left with her tray in hand.

"So what about you Saya-chan?" Mitsu inquired curiously.

"Eh, me?" Saya smiled with wide eyes, pointing at herself.

"Yeah, come on." Mitsu started. "You started this whole conversation as it is."

"Right." Saya returned her gaze to the bar top. "For me,"

Kiri and Maki came back at the same time. "Sorry about that." Kiri apologized.

"No need to apologize Kiri-chan." Juri shook her head.

"I'd have to say Yabuki-kun interests me the most."

"Eh!" Kiri, Maki and Mitsu looked super shocked. Juri had wide eyes, but that was it.

"That idiot Yabuki?" Mitsu and Kiri were shocked by Saya's choice.

"How do we know he's an idiot?" Saya asked defensively.

"Well, he kind of acts like one don't you think?" Kiri tried to reason, but found it a bit hard.

"Even so." Saya was still on the defense.

"She didn't criticize your choices, so don't criticize hers." Juri chastised the two for being that way.

The other girls were shocked to hear that come from Juri's mouth.

"Okay…" they nodded.

After that, the manager came around the store, watching the customers come and go. Six other parties had come and four had left. Maki and Kiri were working hard to get the parties seated and their orders taken. There were too many for them and the one other person who was working with them.

He stopped when he saw Mitsu sitting at the bar.

"Ah, Mitsu-chan." he greeted with a large smile.

"Hello tencho-san." Mitsu greeted with a smile as well.

"It sure is busy here today." he observed, looking around whilst thinking about a solution to the problem. He was in the back making pastries and what not with the other worker.

"Yeah, I feel a little bad for Maki-chan and Kiri-chan." she said. "But I'm not sure I understand why so many people are here today…"

"It's mostly college students and other high school students like yourselves who have come here after checking the entrance board." he informed, still looking at the rest of the customers.

"Oh."

"Would you like to make a little over time?" he turned his head back to Mitsu.

"Huh?"

"Maki-chan and Kiri-chan could use some help. And you could make a little over time by helping them. What do you say?" he proposed in a way that almost made it impossible to say no.

"Well, I guess I could…"

"Great!" he smiled widely. "I'd like you to start helping as soon as possible."

And he walked back to the kitchen where he'd continue to help with the food.

"Man, I was supposed to be off…" Mitsu pouted.

* * *

The guys were at Café de Rovne, drinking their usuals and flipping through job ads.

Tsuchi, Hyuga and Take were making comments on their finds. The three of them were on the couch while Hayato and Ryu were at the bar, looking really bored because they weren't finding anything. Tsuchi pointed out one job that he was interested in.

"Idiot, it says for university graduates." Hyuga remarks pointing at the spot where it said it in the book.

Not long after that though, the guys from the other night, which Hayato had started the fight with, came into the café and had them follow them.

* * *

Sayo walked down the street in a pair of black designer flare jeans, her skull-and-crossbones converse, and a fitted graphic t-shirt with a giant tote bag of neatly folded clothes from the photo shoot. She had already called Saya right after she left the building. Takeshi had been reluctant to let her go seeming as how she would be walking around alone for awhile. But she convinced him to let her go anyways.

As she kept walking, she turned a lot of heads. It wasn't everyday that you saw a teenager walking down the street with a bag of clothes, and she's also dressed in designer clothes that you see in store windows for thousands of yen.

It didn't take her long to find Saya though. They were close to Tetsu's takoyaki stand, but didn't stop there. Just about the same time they were passing by an old rusted building, they saw Shiratori-sensei looking a little worried as she stared down the hallway the two buildings created. They didn't say anything to her, but as they made it to where they could see down it too, they were shocked as well.

The guys were following students from another school into the building. And there were a lot of the other guys compared to their five.

The girls and Shiratori-sensei follow lightly behind the large group of boys. While they watched the conversation they stayed weary, but were still a little curious about what was happening.

"Sorry but, we have no intention of fighting you guys." Ryu opened after the two groups were face to face.

Saya eyed Sayo out of the corner of her eyes. Sayo looked a little worried already.

"Heh, interesting." the leader of the other group scoffed with a look of disbelief and irritation.

Hayato breathed in. "That's all there is to it." he looked at the group in front of him. "See ya." he did his signature bunny ears and they got ready to leave.

The leader of the group was even more pissed with that, so he stepped forward toward Hayato and copied his bunny ears. "You think you can walk away like that?" and he socked Hayato right in the face.

Saya had to do all she could to restrain herself from making a sound when she saw that. Sayo furrowed her eyebrows.

Tsuchi, Hyuga and Take followed Hayato as he stumbled backwards. Tsuchi was the first to turn and try to start something. "You!"

"Tsuchi." Hayato yelled, calling him off.

Tsuchi looked back at Hayato who returned the gaze intensely. He eventually gave in and didn't do anything.

The other two moved next to Ryu who hadn't moved, only turned his body to see if Hayato was alright.

"What is this? Bring it on." the other leader taunted, getting even more irritated by the second.

Ryu stuck his hand in his pocket and moved right in front of the other leader.

Sayo held her breath, having a bad feeling that Ryu was next. She didn't want to see that.

"We told you we don't feel like it."

"Don't joke." and he socked Ryu in the face too. Ryu felled to the ground on his shoulder and Take rushed to help him.

Sayo bit her lip hard to refrain from doing or saying anything stupid. Saya noticed this and felt a pang of sympathy for her cousin. She returned her attention to the fight.

The next two victims were Hyuga and Take. Hayato was being held by his collar. Instead of holding the guys collar like he normally would, he held his hands up in surrender.

Tsuchi was already on the ground holding his stomach. Some jerk wad was kicking him in his side.

Poor Take was being pinned to the ground by his head. Hyuga was on the ground too.

Hayato got kneed in the stomach by the guy who was holding his collar.

Ryu was being held by his neck with a pipe.

Saya and Sayo began to tear up at the sight of this. Shiratori-sensei was staring on in disbelief and horror. She found this hard to watch. She turned around and pulled out her cell phone.

Hayato got socked a couple more times.

Apparently, Shiratori-sensei had called Yankumi. The poor English teacher was panicking.

The guys had been pushed to the wall. The other group approached them with their plastic pipes in the air.

Sayo couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to rush in and help them. She knew they wouldn't appreciate it, but that was what she wanted to do. She took a step forward but was stopped. She turned her head back and saw Saya holding her wrist firmly.

"Don't do it."

"But they…"

"Don't do it, Sayo!"

She ignored her cousin's pleads and tried to rush forward again. This time Saya grabbed her by the waist and held her as tight as she could.

"Let go!" she struggled while she trembled from her emotions going haywire.

"Sayo you can't go out there!"

"Let go of me!"

"Sayo, you can't do it, you'll get in big trouble if you fight!"

Sayo couldn't say anything else, but her tears began to flow down her cheeks. Her body trembled involuntarily while she stood there being held up by Saya. If Saya hadn't had a hold of her somehow, she'd have fallen to the floor already.

The girls couldn't see what was going on, they could only imagine that, but they could hear all the shouting and sounds of pain coming from the guys.

"Move." The leader had finally stopped the other guys from hitting them and grabbed Ryu by the back of his collar. Ryu just stared blankly at him with a bloody lip and ruffled hair. "Hey!"

He moved to Hyuga and looked at him. "You guys…"

He moved down to the next one in line, which was Tsuchi, and held his collar. "Why?"

He kept going, next was Take. "Why?"

He finally went to Hayato, who was in the middle of them all, and held him by his shoulders, pinning him to the wall. "Why won't you fight back?" he yelled. Getting fed up with no answer, he punched Hayato in the stomach again, causing him to fall to the floor.

Yankumi finally arrived. "Shiratori-sensei!"

Said teacher turned around to see the woman who had called her name. She had been waiting eagerly for her to arrive and stop the fighting. "Yamaguchi-sensei, over there." she pointed into the warehouse.

Yankumi stood there and watched for a moment, not noticing the two girls there, crying softly. "They won't fight back at all." Shiratori-sensei informed with worry in her voice.

"Eh?" she looked disbelievingly at Shiratori-sensei.

"They didn't try to hit them back even once."

Yankumi looked at the scene in front of her. "They can't…" she mumbled to herself, remembering the promise they made to her just that very morning.

Saya let her tears flow quietly as they all finally collapsed to a sitting position, resting their backs on the wall behind them.

"What's with you guys?" the leader asked with irritation.

The guys coughed and hacked while Yankumi got even more pissed by the second as she stared on. She started forward and made her way to between Shiratori-sensei and the guys, all of them. "Don't touch my precious students!" she yelled.

This cause all the other guys to turn around look at her funny.

"You've done enough."

The leader walked forward towards her. "Who're you?"

"Me?" Yankumi started with the famous lines that all her students have heard before. "I'm their homeroom teacher."

"She's their homeroom teacher." the leader scoffed and the others laughed stupidly.

"I won't let you lay a finger on them." with that, she started removing her hair ties, tossed her glasses down on the floor, and shook her head to fix her hair. She was now ready to fight them.

"The homeroom teacher here to avenge her students?" the leader taunted with a look of amusement on his face.

"She's so cool." Saya mumbled through her tears. Sayo only nodded her head as she wiped hers away.

"Don't kid around." Yankumi was dead serious now.

"You wanna fight?" the leader said as he walked closer to Yankumi. She only looked at him calmly, so he struck her face. This caused everyone else who had never seen her get hit before to tense up a little. She recovered quickly and just looked at him again. "Why aren't you running away?" he seemed a bit shocked by her persistence.

"Fight back!"

"You wouldn't understand why they weren't fighting back." she told him calmly. When she took one step forward, he took one step back. "They weren't holding back just to entertain you." she continued.

"They've endured so much." she kept moving forward, him backward. "I can't just waste their efforts." they kept moving. "Hit me all you want."

Her words echoed in the room. "But make sure you know what you're doing." she moved a couple more steps. "Because I'm prepared for the worst!" she yelled.

He got so scared that he fell on his butt. She only had to stare at him with intense eyes before he got even more scared. His eyes shifted around the room. "Let's go." he told his crew as he stood up. They all made haste and ran out past Saya, Sayo, and Shiratori-sensei.

After they were alone, just the girls, the teachers, and the guys, Yankumi had a talk with them about the fight. When Saya and Sayo heard Ryu and Hayato talk, they stood up straight and looked very worried. Sayo was now standing on her own, even though her body was still trembling a bit. Saya had wiped away her tears.

Yankumi got on her knees to be level with them, and she began to tear up a little. "You guys…" she had to make it so she could talk and be understood. "You guys really are students I can be proud of."

She got off her knees and ruffled their hair playfully.

"All right, you did well." Yankumi laughed as she continued to ruffle their hair.

"Stop it." Hayato said calmly as she ruffled his.

"You too."

"It hurts." Tsuchi let out when she ruffled his.

Hyuga didn't say anything.

Ryu sat there and took it like a man. He looked a bit comfy on the ground the way he was sitting, but his view was perfect. His eyes widened a little when he saw Saya and Sayo. "Sayo-chan…" he murmured.

Shiratori-sensei looked a bit relieved that they were alright and left.

"Hey!" Saya called as she entered the mini hallway that led to where the guys were.

Yankumi turned around after hearing that and was surprised to see the two girls standing there with small smiles on their faces. "Saya-chan, Sayo-chan? Why are you two here?"

"We saw the guys coming in here and saw the whole thing." Saya continued in while Sayo stood back where she was, unable to do or say anything at the moment.

"Oh…" Yankumi nodded her head.

Hayato, Hyuga, Tsuchi, and Take were looking up at Saya with shocked faces, though it was hard to tell with all the injuries on them.

Saya made her way next to Yankumi and observed the guys. "Man, you really got it didn't you?" she tried her best to mask how she really felt.

"Yeah." Hayato chuckled a little, which led to a bit of coughing.

"Sayo-chan?" Yankumi looked back at the girl who was still standing there. Only, now she was looking at her feet.

She breathed in and looked up with a forced smile on her face. "I'll go get a first aid kit." she called, setting down her tote bag full of clothes and then she took off running.

"That Sayo…" Saya sighed and jogged over to the bag. She shook her head as she picked it up and returned to over by Yankumi and the guys.

"What's in the bag?" Yankumi inquired, curiosity taking over. It was a little weird, her looking serious, but acting silly.

"It's clothes." Saya knew she would ask what kind, but tried to be basic none the less.

"What kind of clothes?" Yankumi was getting a little suggestive and it was bugging both Saya and the guys.

"The clothes she got from Takeshi-kun earlier today…" Saya mumbled, hoping the guys couldn't hear her.

"Why would he give her clothes?" Yankumi asked aloud.

Saya sighed, giving up about the guys not figuring out what had happened today. Let's face it, Yankumi can be a bit of a loud mouth when you really don't want her to be.

"Because she and his girlfriend were the models in his photo shoot today…" she kept her eyes closed to avoid the looks she would get from the others present.

"Eh!" Yankumi blinked. "A photo shoot? For a magazine?"

Saya nodded her head shyly. She was silently yelling at Sayo to hurry and get back here, this was awkward. "How long does it take to get a first aid kit?" she muttered under her breath, then remembered the way Sayo had been acting throughout the fight.

"How did she manage that?" Yankumi asked.

"Takeshi's girlfriend is a journalist." Saya began to explain. "She wanted Sayo to be the one in the pictures and the interview."

"Hmm…" Yankumi nodded her head while she listened.

"Besides, Takeshi-kun always does the pictures for her articles." Saya shrugged. "I've been in some of them too."

"Hmm… Eh, wait what?" Yankumi was thrown off a little at the last little bit. "You've been in them too?"

Saya nodded her head slowly.

"Damn, you must have a lot of designer clothes then." Hayato commented.

"This outfit here came from one of my shoots with Takeshi-kun." she smiled, referring to what she was wearing.

"So, who is his girlfriend?" Yankumi began to get curious about it since it was mentioned.

"Takeshi-kun's?" Saya made sure they were talking about the same person before she said anything stupid. "Her name is Tanaka, Miku."

"Is she really pretty?"

"Well, yeah. Miku-san is beautiful." Saya smiled. "I admire her style quite a bit."

"Eh…" Take smirked, as well as he could at least.

"Poor Maki-chan would hate to see you like this Takeda-kun…" Saya mumbled.

"Sorry for taking so long!" Sayo came around the corner running and seemingly out of breath.

"No worries Sayo-chan." Yankumi shook her head when Sayo got to her.

She was doubled over breathing really hard. Apparently she had ran to and from the drug store. She held her arm up showing the other two women the bag of first aid materials.

"Thanks." Yankumi said as she gripped the bag and distributed the materials among the three of them evenly. "We'll each take one and two of us will have to do two."

"Yeah." Saya nodded, a small smile on her face, then she looked down at Sayo, still doubled over, hands on her knees.

"If I mess anything up you two can fix it right?" Yankumi asked.

"Mm." Sayo nodded her head then stood up straight. Yankumi held out her portion of the materials to her. "Thanks." she said as she took them.

"Here Saya-chan." Yankumi handed Saya hers as well.

"Mm, thanks." she nodded her head once as she took them.

The three turned toward the guys. "So," Yankumi started, eyeing them like a hungry wolf. "Which one do you want Saya-chan?"

The guys were suddenly afraid of what was coming to them.

"I guess I'll take Yabuki-kun, since he's in the middle of everyone." Saya shrugged and walked closer to him before kneeling down in front of him to assess the damage done to his poor, beautiful face.

"All right then. How about you Sayo-chan?" Yankumi turned her head to her side to see the girl looking very down in her spirits.

"…" she didn't say anything while she thought carefully.

"Sayo-chan?" Yankumi was getting concerned now.

"I'll take care of Odagiri-kun…" she finally answered and moved forward. Since Ryu was on the end of the line, Sayo was able to kneel down on his left side and assess the damage.

"All right then, I'll take Takeda." Yankumi declared and moved toward the boy who just sat there in surrender.

Saya talked lightly with Hayato while she put bandages on his face and cleaned up his wounds. "Ow." he muttered when the alcohol hit the open cut on his face.

"This is your own fault…" she retorted, at that point, she was really tempted to press the cotton swab a little harder against him, but she didn't.

Kumiko had to continue to tell Take to endure the pain since he'd already endured being beaten up so badly.

Sayo and Ryu were completely silent. She tried to avoid eye contact with him as much as possible. Seeing him like that wasn't exactly something she enjoyed.

He, on the other hand, watched her almost like a hawk. He could tell she was trying to avoid eye contact, but he was searching for words to say to her. The silence was just a bit awkward for him.

"Ne…" he finally let out. Her head was down, she was putting some more alcohol on the cotton swab in her hand. She looked up at him with her head down for a few seconds and then quickly averted her eyes back to her hands.

"Yes?"

"Why were you crying?"

Her eyes widened when she heard him say that. She blinked a few times before answering him. "Heh, what are you talking about?"

"Your eyes are red."

"I think it might be from the alcohol." she tried to steer away from the subject, and was apparently forcing herself too much.

"No, it's not the alcohol."

"So what?"

"…" he watched her as she stopped what she was doing and closed her eyes. "Never mind, just forget it."

Saya was listening to their conversation, even though it wasn't right. Take, Yankumi, Hyuga, and Tsuchi were making enough noise by themselves. But she could still hear the two. And Hayato was doing the same thing. Only, Hayato was watching the two with his eyes.

"What's going on over there?" Saya asked as she prepared a bandage for Hayato's face.

"He's been watching her." Hayato answered, keeping his eyes on his best friend. "It's almost like he won't look at anything else but her. Kind of weird for him."

"Is she looking back at him?" she looked at him with the bandage ready in her hand.

"No, I don't think she wants to."

Saya sighed and gently placed the bandage in the appropriate place on his face so she didn't hurt him.

"You weren't rough that time like the others." Hayato sounded a little shocked. He moved his gaze from the other two to Saya. "What's with that?"

"I didn't want to hear you whining again." she lied.

"Eh." Hayato nodded and looked back at Ryu and Sayo.

Ryu was still watching her even though he wasn't wondering why she had been crying anymore. Well, at least not out loud. She looked back up at his lips, where his wound was, and brought the swab to it slowly. Upon contact, she was tender and gentle with him. She didn't want to hurt him anymore than he already was.

"So, you were in a photo shoot earlier?" he tried to start another conversation.

"How did you…?" her eyes widened again, but this time she was actually looking at him in the eye.

"Yamaguchi got curious and Saya-chan couldn't hide it."

"Oh…" she nodded slowly. "Yeah, I was."

Ryu didn't say anything else, just kept watching her. Her solemn face was enough to keep him entertained, as strange as that was for him. As this happened, he thought back to that statement Hayato had made about him when they were heading home after watching the girls dance in Ginza.

'Don't you like her?' Hayato had asked him.

'You really can be stubborn.' Hayato had said to him.

Ryu couldn't do anything but stare at his best friend when the words came out of his mouth. Did he really like her but not know it yet? Did he know he liked her but not want to admit it? Was he really that stubborn?

Those were questions he couldn't answer himself yet. He didn't know enough. Not yet.

Sayo was also in deep thought while tending to Ryu. She was thinking about all the answers she gave to the questions Miku had asked her for the interview. How she knew she felt for Ryu but didn't want to admit it to anyone, including herself. How she wished she were as honest as Miku seemed to think she was.

She knew she wanted to be Ryu's friend. And that was enough for now.

Whether anything continued from there was to be, and remain, a mystery to her.

For now…


	8. Side Story 2

_Hey all! I totally forgot that this goes in between chapters 4 and 5, so yeah... Here it is!_

_Like always, just take the spaces out of the links to get to the pictures... Enjoy~_

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**Tell Me, We met For A Reason, Right? A Gokusen Story, the Side-stories.**

_**This little side story occurs between episodes 7 and 8 of the drama.**_

_**Story 2: Saturday Boredom**_

Sayo and Saya had been going to their Conversational English classes for a few weeks now. They were starting to get the hang of it. They also came to find that the English they learned in school was quite helpful.

They were on their way home discussing a few different things, when they suddenly passed by the guys. Well, the guys weren't out on the street, but they were in the Game Center.

Sayo stopped walking and stared at Ryu. Saya had taken quite a few steps before she realized Sayo wasn't with her anymore. She turned around and saw her. Just standing there.

"Sayo…" she called lightly as she approached her and looked through the window where Sayo was looking.

She got quiet when she saw them.

"Ne, Saya…" Sayo began without removing her sights from Ryu's figure hovering over the pool table.

"Hmm?" Saya inquired softly. Everyone around them seemed to be moving so fast, while they were stuck in slow motion.

"Do you think…" Sayo stopped, thinking about what she would say.

Saya waited patiently for her cousin to finish her question while she watched Hayato play a game of pool against Ryu. Apparently he was losing because he didn't look too happy.

"Do you think anything will ever happen between us and them?"

She looked at Sayo, mildly shocked that something like that came out of her mouth. Once she got over that, she thought hard about the question. "Only time can tell. No one knows the future."

"I guess you're right…" Sayo mumbled still staring at Ryu as he shot another ball into the pocket.

"Hey, you okay?" Saya kept her eyes on her cousin. She was really worried about the way she was acting right at the moment.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sayo answered, breathing in deeply and then turning quickly to start walking again with a smile on her face.

Saya only followed her without saying anything else. She knew Sayo wasn't going to talk anymore and that was that.

The two headed home in silence.

Take looked out the window while Hyuga and Tsuchi were laughing at Hayato for missing his shot again. He barely caught Saya and Sayo just before they were away from the window. Realizing it was them, he became curious as to why they were there in the first place.

"Why were they there…?" Take murmured to himself.

"Man, this sucks. I don't even know why I play pool with you…" Hayato complained. He hunched over the pool table and sighed heavily.

"It's your fault, you insinuate it." Tsuchi teased, fanning himself.

"Yeah, you only have yourself to blame." Hyuga taunted.

Hayato fumed, glared, and shook his fist towards Hyuga for that last comment.

"Relax. It's only a game Hayato." Take said with a small smile on his face.

Ryu put away the pool sticks and they headed out of the arcade.

"Oh, by the way…" Take started as they stepped out onto the sidewalk.

The others stopped moving and turned to look at him in question.

"I saw Saya-chan and Sayo-chan walking by the window earlier."

"Eh?" Hayato looked confused.

"Why would they be there at this time of night?" Hyuga wondered out loud.

"Did you guys forget already?" Tsuchi inquired causing all eyes to go onto him. "They have that night class."

"Oh yeah." Hyuga nodded his head slowly.

"I did forget about that…" Take mumbled.

"What class?" Hayato asked, still confused.

"They have a Conversational English class that they take at night." Tsuchi explained.

"Oh…" Hayato nodded slowly and then shrugged. "Whatever, let's go."

Ryu took in the information silently, not showing that he cared one bit.

The next morning was Saturday, and the girls didn't have to go to the school. Ayumi had told Saya to tell the other girls that they didn't need to go today.

So they were walking around, looking for something interesting to do.

"I'm so bored." Kiri complained, with a sigh.

Today the girls all decided to wear skirts.

Kiri was wearing a loose black boat neck shirt that had 'BROOKLYN' printed on it in white. Her skirt was a washed jean mini with two tan spots on the front under the pockets. She wore white Chuck Taylor's on her feet proudly. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= KiriSkirt2 .jpg )

Mitsu had on a black quarter sleeved t-shirt that has the words "HEY CUBA", and a star under the words, in silver. The green mini skirt she sported was probably the biggest factor for the attention grabbing. She also had on white tennis shoes and a thin yellow belt. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= MitsuSkirt2-1 .jpg )

Juri looked sweet in her white fitted t-shirt with a line art picture of Owl from Whinnie the Pooh on it. Her skirt was almost amusing to the other girls, since it had the logo for Budweiser on the back left pocket, not because it was a navy denim mini skirt. Her shoes were mostly white with red straps, the toes peeped out, and they were small heels. That made her the only one with heels on. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= JuriSkirt-1 .jpg )

Maki wore a quarter sleeved shirt with black and white photos of people overlapping each other on it. A light denim washed mini skirt with the edges frayed. And her feet were protected by her black high top sneakers that had peach colored laces. Truly an interesting match up. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= MakiSkirt-1 .jpg )

Saya wore a long sleeved white sweater with a navy polka dot duck on it over a white t-shirt. The skirt she wore is a purple denim mini skirt. She topped off her look with black high top converse. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= SayaPurpleSkirt .jpg )

And Sayo had on a white t-shirt with a picture of a woman's head and text under it printed on it in black. She wore a black denim mini skirt that was the same skirt as Saya's, just it wasn't purple. She was the only one with accessories, black arm warmers. She also had on black high top converse. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= SayoBlackSkirt .jpg )

Since they all had on mini skirts, the guys passing by them stared. It was only natural. They were pretty girls after all.

"There are too many guys staring at us…" Sayo complained with an irritated face.

"I know…" Saya agreed, sighing.

"I think the attention is nice." Mitsu smiled. "After all, we only ever get admired by other girls at school."

"That's true…" Maki nodded her head in agreement.

Saya and Sayo only shrugged their shoulders. "Whatever."

Kiri's eye twitched a bit. "It's been awhile since you two have done that, it caught me off guard…"

"Even so, I'm so glad none of us have to work today." Mitsu seemed really happy about that.

"That's true." Juri smiled sweetly as she looked at all the places they were passing by while walking.

"We still need something to do though…" Saya mumbled, looking across the street.

"Hmm…" the others nodded their heads.

The guys were bored, as usual. Since they still had to attend due to excessive absences, they were in the classroom that Saturday morning. Too bad, they were planning on going to the park and hanging out for a little bit.

Oh well.

"This totally sucks." Tsuchi commented as Hyuga threw his dart.

"Yeah, no kidding." Hyuga agreed after his dart hit out of bounds.

Take and Hayato snickered at his bad luck.

"Be quiet…" Hyuga sulked as he sat on the desktop.

"My turn." Hayato declared as he pushed himself off the desk.

"Don't screw up." Ryu mumbled.

Hayato only glared at him. He aimed and let it fly.

Darts was something he was good at. Pool on the other hand, not against Ryu.

Ryu didn't even bother to join them in the dart game. It just wasn't something he did. He'd rather sit there and think to himself. Like, for example, about those questions he still couldn't answer. And it pissed him off.

"All right!" Hayato exclaimed as he made a bulls eye. "Pay up."

"Man…" Hyuga pouted and pulled out the cash from his pocket.

"I don't know why I join these bets, I always lose." Tsuchi mumbled while he emptied his pockets.

"I know better by now." Take chuckled, watching the other two become broke.

"Well, now what should we do?" Hayato asked after he pocketed his new cash.

"Not sure…"

"Well, at least there isn't much time before we leave for lunch." Take mentioned, perking up the others.

"Oh, sweet. I didn't realize it was almost lunch." Tsuchi smiled, finally some time away from the boring classroom.

"I am getting hungry…" Hyuga said with a hand on his stomach.

"Yeah, no kidding." Hayato added.

Ryu still didn't say anything. He was too immersed in his thoughts to hear them mention lunch and their hunger.

Although the room was loud, the sound of a keitai ringing was clearly heard by the five. The sound caused Ryu to lose his train of thought. He searched for the one who resonated the sound. It was a lot closer to him than he thought it was.

Misawa was the one who had the ringing keitai. He picked it up eagerly with a small smile on his face. "Hello?"

He was silent for a moment and so were the other five guys.

"No, we're still on the clock." he said to the other person. Apparently they had asked about school.

"Oh really? Lucky."

Ryu's face contorted in curiosity and confusion. Who would be calling Misawa in the middle of the day like this?

"I'm not sure, but I can call you later to see."

Hayato was also curious about this conversation. Take just watched with a calm expression. Tsuchi and Hyuga lost interest quick and began their own little conversation.

"You sure?" Misawa asked. "That place might be a good place, I guess."

He didn't sound too sure of what the other person was saying. This made Hayato and Ryu even more curious.

"I don't go to those places, but I'm sure you'll have fun there." he smiled.

Hayato's curiosity grew larger. He inched closer to Ryu to possibly hear the other person's voice. Ryu only looked at him funny for a moment and then returned his attention to Misawa. Obviously if Ryu couldn't hear the voice, neither would Hayato.

"It's almost lunch." Misawa shrugged. "No, I was going to buy it from the stand."

"Who is he talking to?" Hayato was getting too curious for his own good.

Ryu tried to ignore him with all his might and focus on the conversation. Well, what he could hear of it anyway.

"Eh? You really want them?" Misawa seemed shocked now. What could it possibly be?

"Well, I don't know them but…" Misawa looked a little awkward. "I guess you could ask them yourselves…"

Hayato strained his ears to hear, but to no avail. When Ryu saw him moving forward again, he caught Hayato's jacket and held him back.

"Well, go to a restaurant and eat." he reasoned. "Oh, not enough huh?"

Take finally got curious enough to join Hayato.

"Well, I guess takoyaki is ok for lunch…" Misawa shrugged again. "But it isn't exactly healthy you know…"

He suddenly held the phone a little away from his ear and closed one eye. "Ok ok, I won't say anything about your diet…"

A few more seconds, and the next reply sounded quite suspicious. "No, I didn't say you were fat…"

"Eh…?" Hayato and Take breathed out in utter confusion. What the hell!

"Yes, takoyaki is good for lunch, go have some." Misawa sighed. He looked quite tired and the call was only about five minutes long at the moment.

"Yeah, I'll call you when we get off okay?" it seemed like the conversation was finally coming to an end. "Mm. Alright, I can wait."

Hayato and Take's faces returned to normal.

"Well, fine. I won't wait then. Just come find them yourselves." Misawa retorted, looking a little agitated. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I can be a jerk sometimes…"

Ryu was a little surprised by that, but the emotion only stayed for a few seconds then disappeared.

"Mm. Right, later." and he finally hung up. Of course, a sigh was the only thing he could let out after that mess.

"Who was that on the phone Misawa?" Hayato asked as he approached said exhausted boy.

Misawa looked up. "Oh, it was Saya-chan."

"Eh?" Take was surprised by that answer. So was Hayato and Ryu for that matter.

"Yeah, she wanted to check if we were out already." he nodded.

"What? Are they not in school?" Take inquired.

"Yeah, they didn't have to go today, so they're all out." Misawa answered. "They're gonna have takoyaki for lunch."

"Kind of guessed that when you said something about it." Hayato mentioned.

"Oh, you heard that?" Misawa looked at them, surprised.

"Yeah." Ryu nodded his head.

"Yeah, they're lucky, they don't have to go to school…" Misawa began to sulk.

"True." Hayato and Take nodded their heads in agreement.

"What did they want?"

"Eh?" Misawa thought for a second. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough, I think…" he smiled and walked away from them to go get lunch since the bell rang right that moment.

"Man, I hate those answers." Hayato groaned.

Tsuchi and Hyuga, the hungry men, joined them. "Let's go get food, I'm starving."

"Yeah, yeah…" Hayato mumbled and they took off.

For lunch, they went to Tetsu's takoyaki stand. Saya and Sayo introduced the other girls to Tetsu and Minoru.

After that, they went to a park and watched the kids play while their stomachs digested.

So now, they're on their way to Kurogin, since Misawa had called Saya back. Apparently, they were out now. They were hoping to catch Hayato and the others before they went off.

"I hope we catch them." Juri said as they jogged down the path to the two schools.

A bunch of guys were passing them by. "Yeah, there are a lot of students passing us by. They must be out." Kiri observed.

Most of the students passing them were first and second years. A few 3-D students were passing them left and right. The girls could tell the difference by the way the 3-D guys looked at them.

"Man, there's too many guys again…" Saya muttered.

"Mm." Sayo nodded her head in agreement.

"You've been really quiet today Sayo-chan." Maki mentioned, since it had been on her mind all day. "Why is that?"

"Uh…" Sayo had been caught off guard by the question. She slowed down a little.

"There they are." Mitsu pointed towards the gates and they all slowed down to a walking pace, matching Sayo.

"Hey! Takeda-kun!" Maki called, waving her arms in the air to get his attention.

It worked too. Take stopped talking and looked ahead of him to see who was calling his name. He looked really surprised to see the girls there. Apparently he had forgotten all about the phone call earlier.

"Hey Maki-chan!" Take called back, waving his hand with a smile.

This caused the other guys to look too. Tsuchi and Hyuga were totally shocked to see them there. "Why..?" Tsuchi mumbled to himself.

"Yeah…" Hyuga nodded, on the same page as Tsuchi.

"Hey girls," Hayato called while he put his hand up. His extreme curiosity had lasted the rest of the day, so he didn't forget that Misawa had said they were coming.

Ryu only nodded his head when the girls got closer to them. He noticed Sayo was lagging in the back of the group. She seemed a little out of it for some reason. Though, he had a vague idea of why that was. It was the same for him.

"Hey back." Saya smirked. She was seriously almost like the female version of Hayato, the others swore on it. That was no mistake.

"Hey, what are you guys up to this afternoon?" Mitsu asked with a small smile playing her features.

"Well, not much really…" Tsuchi admitted.

"You don't have to work today?" Hyuga asked, curiosity in his eyes.

Mitsu, Kiri and Maki only shook their heads.

"You girls look amazing." Take complimented.

"Oh, thanks Takeda-kun…" Maki blushed a light, almost invisible, pink.

"That's so sweet of you, Takeda-kun." Juri smiled sweetly while she looked at him. Take only returned the smile.

"Now that I actually notice what you're wearing, I must say…" Tsuchi looked the girls up and down. "You are smoking today."

Mitsu and Kiri both burst out laughing at Tsuchi's comment. Saya and Sayo only chuckled a little. Maki and Juri smiled.

"Yeah, I agree with Tsuchi." Hyuga nodded vigorously. "You're hot."

Saya chuckled again. "Thanks."

"So, what did you girls have in mind?" Hayato steered away from the girls' looks and onto what they actually came here for.

"Well, we've actually been wandering the whole area today, and haven't found anything to do." Saya admitted.

"Hmm, is there anything you girls had in mind?" Take asked curiously.

"Well, we know what we're doing later tonight…" Mitsu said thoughtfully.

The guys nodded their heads, waiting for an answer to Take's question.

"We're not really sure what we want to do." Sayo let out finally.

"Well, why don't we just walk around and brainstorm. Maybe we'll come up with something." Hayato proposed nonchalantly.

So the two groups merged, walking down the streets, window shopping and admiring different items they wished they could have. Sometimes the girls stopped in front of jewelry stores and peered through the windows with starry eyes. Occasionally the guys stopped in front of the game stores and looked in longingly.

After about an hour or so of wandering, Sayo stopped walking abruptly.

Saya turned back after realizing Sayo wasn't with them anymore. "Sayo?"

"Huh?" Maki looked over her shoulder. The others stopped walking and turned to look.

"What's wrong?" Juri asked, a little worried that something had happened.

"Nothing really. She just stopped." Saya answered, waiting for her cousin to say something.

Sayo's eyes were traveling the ground while she thought. Her eyes brightened a little after she looked up at them with a small smirk on her face. "Let's go roller skating."

Saya's eyes widened. "I hadn't thought of that."

The other girls mumbled that they hadn't either and the guys were a bit hesitant. Sayo's eyes darted to them and pierced their skin. They jumped and gulped, fearing what she was going to say. Although, Ryu wasn't scared of her.

"You guys have to come too."

The guys flinched. This was going to be a long afternoon for them. Though, the girls were looking forward to this fun activity that lay ahead of them.


	9. Chapter 5

_Added links to reference to fro the magazine pictures. Of course, they're not of the actual photos, but the outfits Sayo wears. And they are b&w. I'm not good enough with photoshop to color them..._

_Anywho, enjoy the chapter ^^_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 5: Important Decision Time!**

Later that week, the girls had gotten news that Hayato's father had shown up in the classroom one morning and made a big scene. Apparently it was absolutely hilarious to everyone else except for Hayato. Every time someone mentioned it he just muttered a dark "Shut up." to them. When he said it to Saya, she just tossed her head to the side with a "humph!" and stopped talking to him. The others could only laugh. How alike those two were.

Recently Sayo had been busy so she didn't really have time to be around the others. She was always doing something with someone. One time she had to go to a graduation party from the track team. Another was the Chorus graduation party, which Saya also attended. As well as the swim team's graduation party. She may not look it, but she was actually a very active high school student.

Kiri and Mitsu were on the student government, so they had to go to those parties. There were at least two. Maki had work since she asked for some over time to help raise her college funds a little more. Juri was also out looking for a job, but she was a shoe in for scholarships.

The guys kind of saw Mitsu's job to be pointless, but to her it was very important. She didn't want to have to depend on her parents for anything unless she absolutely had to. It was her goal to be independent when it came to college tuition like her brother.

Kiri had a couple scholarships in her hands already plus her job, which she asked for a little less over time than Maki did, but some over time none the less. She wanted to make sure she was set before she made any rash decisions.

Sayo hadn't chose a college to apply to. Saya and Mitsu were looking at the same college with a couple extras to fall back on. Maki and Kiri chose a basic college. Juri chose a University with a four year program on business management. Of course, the latter three had other colleges to fall back on as well. Sayo hadn't chosen anywhere because she was unsure of what she wanted to do from here. So she kept herself open to the opportunities life was going to throw at her.

So, one afternoon in the end of winter and the very early beginning of spring, the girls are without Sayo. For the third time that week.

"Man, Sayo's really been busy lately, huh?" Kiri sighed, she was bored.

"Yeah." Mitsu nodded her head as she stared blankly ahead. She was bored too.

Maki, Kiri, and Mitsu were at work, wishing they were with their friends at the moment. But they needed this, so they didn't complain out loud.

They spread out over the tables, recording order after order, running around like orderly chickens with their heads cut off. It's not like they were frantic. They were just moving fast. As well as writing fast.

They finished making the drinks that were ordered. Just as they were getting back to the bar to sigh in relief, they looked up and saw the guys. It wouldn't be right to say they were surprised. Because, to tell the truth, they expect them to come every day. Mainly because of Maki and Take.

But that's it.

* * *

Saya and Juri were taking their time around the mall. They didn't have anything else to do and were a little tired of partying to tell the truth. Most of the graduating seniors, when they weren't looking at test scores, were going insane by spending money at karaoke and bowling and what not.

The girls had a plan though.

They were planning on telling the guys, but weren't sure if that would be the right course of action. But that topic was for later discussion.

Right now, the two girls were occupied with window shopping.

"Oh, this is cute." Juri admired with a soft smile on her face as she bent half way over to look at the item in the window.

"I think it suits you, Juri-chan." Saya complimented.

"Really?" Juri colored a little, showing her embarrassment.

"Yeah, I think it would look fabulous on you."

"Thanks." Juri had her head down as they turned away from the store window and continued walking.

"So, what's Sayo-chan up to today?" Juri inquired, lifting her head up and watching where she was going so she didn't trip on anything. Even if it was going to be her own feet she tripped on…

"Oh, she went to visit Kumiko-sempai with Takeshi-kun." Saya smiled, imagining how it would go.

"Oh really? Your cousin knows that teacher?" Juri looked a bit surprised as she turned to Saya with semi large eyes.

"Yeah, he was one of Kumiko-sempai's first students." Saya explained. "Shirokin Gakuen was the school."

"Shirokin?" Juri looked up thoughtfully with her index finger on her chin. "Isn't that school closed now?"

Saya only nodded as an answer. Her small smile seemed to be one that would form when recalling a bittersweet memory.

Juri noticed this but kept her thoughts and questions to herself. Now probably wasn't the time to bring up something like that.

* * *

Sayo and Takeshi walked down the halls to the faculty room of Kurogin Gakuen. They were hoping Yankumi was still there. Maybe they'd be able to catch her before she left for something.

They rounded a corner and found the room. "I hope she's still there…" Sayo mumbled under her breath before hey entered.

The doorway led to a small set of steps, leading to the main planning area of the faculty. "Excuse us…" Sayo called lightly as the two took a few steps into the room.

All the teachers looked at the door way with question. Shiratori-sensei perked up at the sight of the handsome young man standing next to the high school girl. The other male teachers just looked at him with a blank stare. Baba-sensei was the only one who stood up to greet the two.

"How can I help you?" he asked. But before one of them could answer, Yankumi shot up out of her seat.

"Sayo-chan!" She made her way to the girl. "What are you doing here…" her voice faded as she noticed Takeshi's presence. Her pleasantly surprised face turned into a face of pure shock. "Noda!" she exclaimed, pointing a petite finger at him.

"Noda?" Sawatari-kyoto squinted his eyes as he started a fire in his memory bank that started the wheel.

"Yo Yankumi, it's been awhile." He smirked. "Nice to see you're still energetic even though there's no more Shinohara-san for you to drool over."

Sayo covered her mouth to refrain from laughing at the last part of Takeshi's greeting. She had heard all about Shinohara-san, Kashiwagi-san, Kawashima-sensei, as well as Fujiyama-sensei. She found Kumiko's infatuation with the detective absolutely hilarious, given her family business and all.

Yankumi turned devil and glared at Takeshi after she realized what he had said. "Why are you bringing up something like that now?" her tone was dark.

Sayo bit her lip hard to try not to laugh out right.

Takeshi's smirk became more devious as Yankumi got angrier. "Ah, you never change." he shook his head nonchalantly.

With that, Yankumi had a sudden mood swing. "What?"

"Relax. It's a good thing." Takeshi reassured her.

"Ok…" she looked a little cautious of his words. "But what are you doing here, really?"

"Takeshi-kun wanted to visit with you, Kumiko-sempai." Sayo explained.

"Oh really?" Kumiko smiled widely at Takeshi. "All right, I get off in a few minutes. If you want to wait outside, I'll meet you there."

"Sounds good to me." Sayo nodded.

Sawatari-Kyoto got up, finally registering the name and face with his memory. "Noda?"

This caused Takeshi to look back past Yankumi to see his former Kyoto-sensei, and hell giver. "Yo, Saruwatari."

"Sawatari desu!" he snarled.

Takeshi only laughed lightly. "You haven't changed either."

Sayo smiled too. Kumiko snickered a little while her back was turned to Sawatari-Kyoto.

"Well, we'll be waiting for you Kumiko-sempai." Sayo bowed and pushed Takeshi out of the room before he started anything hazardous.

* * *

"So, what are the other three up to today?" Hayato asked Mitsu as she rinsed a few coffee cups.

She looked up, stopping what she was doing temporarily, and thought for a moment. "Not sure…" she went back to rinsing the cups.

"I think Saya-chan and Juri-chan are window shopping to pass the time." Kiri answered as she came up from behind the guys with an empty tray in her hands.

"Yeah, Sayo-chan didn't show up at the school today." Mitsu commented.

"Saya-chan only told us she was busy and that was it." Kiri finished as she made her way next to Mitsu.

"Hmmm, that sounds quite suspicious." Hyuga added in, squinting his eyes while looking thoughtful.

Hayato lightly smacked the back of his head. "Idiot, like she would do something like what you're thinking of."

"Hey, you never know what happens on the streets when you aren't there." Tsuchi pointed out.

"That's true…" Take nodded his head before taking a sip of his drink.

Maki came around the corner of the bar entrance and joined the other two. "There's a couple more hours to closing time. Thank god right?"

"I know." Kiri chuckled.

"I imagine that by now, Saya-chan and Sayo-chan are at their class." Mitsu stated, figuring that the classes probably started around this time.

"Yeah, maybe." Maki agreed.

The door opened with the ring of a bell. "Welcome!"

"Hey girls." Juri called with a large, sweet smile as she headed down the stairs to the bar.

"Oh, hey Juri-chan." Maki smiled in greeting.

"Hey, first customer in an hour." Kiri chuckled again. It was currently pretty dead. There were only three tables full.

"Isn't that a good thing Kiri-chan?" Take asked in slight confusion.

"I guess it is…" Kiri looked like she hadn't thought much about what she had said before.

"But it's true." Mitsu added. The tables that were full were all college students studying for exams and what not.

Juri sat down next to Tsuchi and asked Maki for an ice water.

That didn't take long, and it was in front of her for 10 yen.

"Man, that Sayo sure is lucky she doesn't have to slave…" Kiri sighed, envying her friend, even though she knew that wasn't entirely true.

With the mention of Sayo, Juri suddenly remembered something. Her head shot up at the other three girls, "Speaking of Sayo-chan…" she started.

"Yeah?" Mitsu asked as the other two, plus the guys, turned their heads in her direction.

"Have you seen the magazine article yet?" Juri smiled.

"Ah, I totally forgot about it." Maki put a hand over her mouth. It wasn't like them to forget about something like that.

"Me too. Man! I can't believe I forgot something like that…" Kiri pouted. The article was something she really wanted to get her hands on.

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" Mitsu only nodded her head in agreement.

"Oh, I forgot too…" Take mumbled.

"Yeah." The other guys sounded in unison, nodding their heads slowly.

"Well, Saya-chan and I got one earlier." Juri said as she whipped the magazine out of her tote bag she had with her.

"Wow!" Hyuga breathed.

"Their cousin shoots photos for this magazine?" Tsuchi questioned in disbelief.

"I know…" Hayato muttered.

Sayo was on the cover in a long, flowing open back, dark purple, halter tie dress. Her back was facing the camera, her hair flowing in the wind, and her hands clasped together above her butt. Her head was turned over her shoulder so her face was visible. She had a sweet smile on her face, the light from behind made her face look so radiant. (Link to dress picture without color: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Sayo-Photoshoot-3- 162858038 )

"She looks amazing!" Maki gushed as she blushed a little with envy.

"I know right." Kiri smiled.

"Way to go Takeshi-kun." Mitsu cheered.

"Whoa!" Tsuchi read the front page. "Her article is one of the leads?"

"No way!" Take jumped up out of his seat and leaned over to read the front page as well.

"It's true." Hyuga nodded his head slowly.

"Wow, now I'm starting to wonder what she said…" Hayato mumbled. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ryu nod his head slightly.

"Alright, I think you've admired the cover enough." Juri chuckled as she brought the magazine closer to her so she could skip straight to the article.

"Hurry." Kiri pleaded, bouncing a little with impatience.

"Okay, sheesh…" Juri mumbled as she laid the magazine out on the counter open to the article. The article took up five pages, all with a series of 12 questions from Miku and answers from Sayo along with Sayo's pictures that were themed to the emotion being asked about.

"Ah! Sayo's so lucky." Mitsu pouted as she admired the designer clothes clinging to Sayo's body in the pictures.

"Whoa, that outfit must have been expensive…" Hyuga mumbled observing the clothes Mitsu was referring to.

"Ah, I love her answer here." Kiri smirked. She pointed to the spot where the answer was so no one asked.

"Uwah, she sounds so mature…" Maki smiled in amazement.

"I know." Juri chuckled.

"Her answers to these questions are like something a married person would say." Take commented.

"That's an interesting take on it." Tsuchi smirked a little while he continued to read the article.

"She sure had a lot to say…" Hayato mumbled as he read on. Ryu only nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, no kidding…" Hyuga mumbled.

When everyone was finished reading, they observed the pictures. On the first page of the article was a picture of Sayo and Miku standing next to each other. Sayo had both of her hands clinging onto Miku's right arm, her body turned to the left slightly. Miku had her left hand on Sayo's hand. They were both smiling as they looked directly at the camera. Sayo had on a dark jean mini, a dark fuchsia quarter sleeve boat neck over a grey spaghetti strap t-shirt, and a pair of purple and grey Nikes. One small detail most of them overlooked was a black choker on her neck. Miku was wearing a dark brown designer leather jacket with a light green lace camisole under it, long dark brown slacks and a pair of black heels peeping out from under the slacks. (Link to Sayo's outfits without color: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Sayo-Photoshoot-1- 162853437 )

Together, they looked absolutely amazing, almost as if they were truly related to each other. Miku's long black strands were pulled back into a casual bun, her bangs framing her delicate face. Sayo's hair was down, shining from the lights, and framing her face perfectly, almost like it usually was, only one could tell that a professional had done it.

"You know her outfits are only going to get more expensive right?" Juri asked slyly as the girls admired the fashion.

"Yes..." Kiri and Mitsu both grumbled lowly. They knew Juri was only teasing them, but they were still so jealous.

"Will you flip it over Juri-chan?" Maki asked with a smile, the eagerness resonating in her voice.

Juri flipped to the next page. Everyone grew quiet as they read intensely. The page on the right had questions about friends and the one on the left had questions about work-type relationships.

"I really like her answer to the one about bad friends." Take remarked after he was done. "It reminds me of how people used to see our group."

"Yeah, it really does." Hayato nodded, a slight bitterness to his voice. Ryu nodded in agreement again. It seemed that was all he could do at the moment.

"Oh, Juri, you seriously had to say something about the fashion didn't you!" Mitsu complained as her eyes rested on the outfit Sayo was sporting in the picture.

"Oh, I love those pants she has on…" Maki whispered.

"I know, they're so pretty." Kiri gushed with a smile.

The guys didn't really have any particular interest in what she was wearing, or what any girl was wearing for that matter. Unless, of course, it could be described as sexy.

"I'll give it to her, she can work it well." Hyuga smirked, observing the pose Sayo was striking in the picture.

She's standing up, looking straight at the camera with a warm smile. Her right hand was on her hip, left hand by her thigh casually. Her head was cocked ever the slightest to the right to add to the pose. Her garments included a white v-neck t-shirt, a slightly dark pink scarf, blue denim cuffed sleeve jacket, matching blue denim pants with a thin pink belt around the waist. The top of her pants looked as though they were folded down, but it was all part of the fashion. Her feet were adorned with navy blue flip flops with her black toe nails popping out from under the pant legs. And that was only the right page. (Link to outfits without color: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Sayo-Photoshoot-1- 162853437 )

On the left page, she stood with an open file in her right hand, a pen in her left hand that was resting the capped end on her lips, and her left leg bent to add to the pose. While her body was facing a bit to the left, she stood there holding the files out in front of her with the pen to her lips and her eyes on the camera making her look innocent. It was cute. Her attire included a brown v-neck vest with a yellow line around the neck, a white, three quarter sleeved, button up under the vest with a loose red bow tie under the collar. The tails of the button up popped out from under the bottom of the vest, over her beige cuffed shorts. Her feet were covered by brown and beige flats with a gold anklet on her right ankle. (Link to outfits without color: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Sayo-Photoshoot-2- 162854444 )

"She looks more like a college student here in this picture." Mitsu giggled as she pointed to the aforementioned left page.

"Yeah, she does." Kiri joined.

"She'd probably make a really good college girl, don't you think Ryu?" Hayato was intent on teasing Ryu. But it didn't really work.

Ryu ignored him as he studied the pictures and the text on the two pages.

"You alright Ryu?" Take inquired, concerned. "You haven't said anything since we got here."

Ryu nodded his head, though he wasn't paying attention to what was being said to him.

"All right, next page." Juri sang as she pulled the magazine out from in front of the others and flipped the page.

Juri set the magazine back down and paid close attention to everyone's faces. Most of them were shocked and didn't say anything at all. Juri glanced at Ryu, at least it was supposed to be a glance. His face actually had some hint of emotion on it! It almost looked as though he could possibly relate to the emotion portrayed on Sayo in the magazine.

She was wearing a slightly baggy boat neck yellow sweater, a pair of jeans with a pink belt peeping out from under the sweater, and yellow converse. In the picture she was leaning against the wall, looking down with a depressed look on her face. Almost as if she didn't have anything else in life that would motivate her to live another day. (Link to outfits without color: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ art/ Sayo-Photoshoot-2- 162854444 )

After a long, long pause, Tsuchi finally broke the silence. "She looks so sad, like really."

"Yeah…" Maki agreed, nodding her head a little.

They went quiet again as they read the questions on that page, relating to teacher-student bonds and sad relationships. Since Juri had read it a couple times, she knew what was written on the page. Sayo's answers were amazing, she had to admit. She knew that if she had been the one asked all these questions, she wouldn't have been able to do it to this extent.

Juri looked back up at the girls and knew exactly when they were reading Sayo's answer to the sad relationships question. She had felt the same as they do now. They knew what Sayo had gone through and had figured something was up with Sayo. They knew she liked someone, but were unsure as to who exactly it was she liked. Whoever it was, she liked them a lot. You know, that really strong pull. She was in the middle of it and they didn't know, neither did she for that matter, if she would ever be pulled all the way in, or shut out completely.

"Her outfit is so cute, even though the picture makes you feel a bit sad." Kiri commented.

"Yeah, you're right." Maki smiled.

"Her expression looks so real…" Hyuga breathed as he stared at the picture again. He was done reading.

Tsuchi studied the picture for a minute and thought to himself. The question he wanted to ask was inappropriate. Although, the same question was running through Hyuga and Take's minds at the same time, ironically. But Hayato was very impulsive and tended not to think before he spoke. So…

"Does she have a crush on anyone?"

The guys cringed at the words, figuring he'd get slapped by one of them. The girls jumped in surprise. They blinked a few times before they answered, seriously considering whether they should answer the question or not. Would Sayo kill them if they said they suspected her of liking someone? Probably so. Would the guys press on, if they were intent on knowing, for an answer? Maybe, though it just seems like a simple question, not a demand.

"Um…" they mumbled as they thought more.

"It's alright if you don't know, we're just a bit curious." Take smiled, reassuring them that it was okay if they just said they didn't know to get out of the question.

"Well, I'm not sure…" Juri mumbled, thinking back to the first time she saw the picture as well as recalling some things Sayo had done in the past.

"She might…" Kiri let out.

"But if she does, we can't tell who it is." Maki explained simply.

"Sounds about right." Take smiled and returned his sights to the magazine, only to the left page.

She was in the same dress as the cover of the magazine only she was leaning against the trunk of a tree with a large, content smile playing at her lips and her eyes closed. This time her shoes were visible. They were cloth tie up sandals with wooden soles. The cloth on the shoes matched the dress perfectly. (Refer to firt link for the dress.)

"Tanaka-san chose a very good finale." Juri chimed in to change the subject.

"Yeah, she sure did." Mitsu smirked.

"Maybe you'll find out your answer there…" Kiri smirked as well before reading the end.

Another period of silence came from the group as they read. The girls were really lucky that no customers were coming or leaving. The college students were still wrapped up in their studying to leave or order anything at the moment.

"Wow…" was all that could be muttered afterwards.

Ryu continued to study the picture intently until Juri closed it and put it away.

He planned to get himself one later.

* * *

The next morning, Saya and Sayo both made it to the school to join the other girls. But the girls didn't stay too long. Ayumi let the girls go since they were making plans before the three girls had to go to work.

The girls, being courteous friends, waited until they were in a safe place to bombard Sayo with questions about the interview. This is where we start now, in the middle of the interrogation.

"Sayo." Mitsu stared her dead in the face seriously.

"Yeah?" Sayo was unenthusiastic about the questions and disliked that they were doing it against her will.

"Tell us truthfully ok?" Mitsu was still serious, even if she didn't sound like it.

"…" Sayo didn't say anything, she just waited. She figured whatever was coming next, she wouldn't like it.

"Is there someone you like?"

She was right. Hit the nail right on the head. Target locked on, and explode!

Surprisingly enough, to her and the other girls, she kept a straight face instead of turning red and trying to get away.

"Maybe." she answered slyly with a dry smirk.

"That's not fair!" Kiri shouted, a slight pout on her face.

"Life isn't fair." Sayo smirked fully, rubbing it in her face.

"I can tell you do." Saya smirked at the turn. Since she knew how Sayo acted when it comes to guys she likes, she could tell instantly when Sayo first started showing the signs without her herself even knowing.

The others watched as Sayo's eyes widened, she blinked a couple times, and then she lowered her head so they couldn't see her face. She was sure she was getting red, she could feel her face burning. Not good.

"What was that about life not being fair Sayo-chan?" Kiri teased.

It took a little before the girls realized that wasn't the best way to ask her about that. She was being silent for too long. Something wasn't right with the way she was acting.

"It was a joke, Sayo-chan, come on." Kiri tried to make her be normal again, but it wasn't working.

Saya sighed. "Come on, don't worry about it. Just forget I said it okay?"

"I can't…" Sayo mumbled.

"Why not?" Juri asked, her voice carrying concern heavily.

"I just don't want to admit it…" she confessed.

"Who is it?" Kiri pressed.

"Kiri!" Maki and Mitsu scolded.

"Sorry…." Kiri mumbled with a slight frown.

"I won't say it…" Sayo mumbled again, more to herself than to the others.

"It's okay." Maki reassured her with a small, concerned smile.

"Yeah, you really don't have to tell us okay?" Mitsu joined in.

"Come on Sayo," Saya started as she ran her hand up and down Sayo's back soothingly. "don't let it bother you. I know I shouldn't have said that."

"…" Sayo sighed and slowly lifted her head to see the girls. "I guess…" her face was still a bit pink at her thoughts rushing to her head about a certain someone.

"There, you're good now right?" Kiri smiled fully.

"Mm." Sayo nodded her head once.

"All right. About our graduation party…" Maki started.

"Yeah, I was thinking a big blowout." Kiri's smile turned into a wicked grin.

"Nothing too big, it's only going to be us anyways." Saya reasoned.

"Not quite." Mitsu interjected.

"Oh?" Sayo and Saya reacted the same way. Its been a long time since that happened…

"I was thinking we might invite the Kurogin boys along for fun." Mitsu had a wickedly sly grin on her face as well. Kiri looked over at her and got even more excited than she was about a 'big blowout'.

"This is trouble…" Juri muttered lowly.

"Agreed." Saya and Sayo did it again and nodded their heads.

"I seriously don't think that's a good idea you two." Maki interjected this time.

"Why not?" Kiri and Mitsu pouted.

"Because, who knows what they'll want to do." Juri complained.

"Besides, this is supposed to be an all girls graduation party for us, isn't it?" Sayo added in.

"Good point." Saya agreed, nodding her head.

"Oh, come on!" Kiri drawled. "Think about it, staying at an onsen, possibly with the guys right next door…" a naughty grin spread across her face. You can tell what she's thinking about.

"I don't want that kind of thing to happen!" Juri blushed as she rejected the proposal.

"I don't think they would take advantage of a situation like that…" Maki argued.

"Well, not all of them anyways…" Mitsu corrected, stressing all.

"This graduation party is supposed to be just us and that's it." Sayo stated firmly, ending the controversy.

"Okay, geez, you didn't need to get angry like that Sayo-chan…" Kiri pouted.

"Sorry, I just don't really want to hear it at the moment."

"Well, where are we gonna go then?" Mitsu questioned with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Good question…" Maki assumed a thoughtful pose as well.

"Not an onsen, it's way too common." Saya waved her hand in front of her face with her eyes closed.

"And going on a trip to another city is popular too." Sayo added.

"What about a karaoke blowout?" Juri suggested innocently.

The girls all lost their thoughtful looks and stared blankly at Juri's innocent face for a few minutes.

"That's a little elementary, don't you think?" Kiri went thoughtful again.

Saya saw Sayo thinking really hard and knew something was up. "Sayo?"

Sayo blinked a couple times before raising her head and looking at her cousin in question. "Hm?"

"Do you have a suggestion?"

"…" Sayo looked back down at the pavement for a moment. "Well…"

"Yeah?"

The girls all looked back up at Sayo, awaiting what she was going to say. "I was thinking about an all nighter at a dance club."

The girls were silent while they turned the idea over in their brains. It sounded good. Not all high school girls went to a club for their graduation night. Hell, hardly any sane high school girl went to a club, at all. There were bound to be guys all over. Maybe one of them would get lucky. Maybe they would get kicked out because they weren't old enough to be around alcohol.

There was plenty to think about.

"Which dance club are you talking about?" Saya inquired before she continued processing information.

"There's this one that we pass occasionally. I want to check it out. I hear they have a really cool DJ and they play decent music." Sayo answered, thinking a bit. "The bar also sells regular drinks opposed to just alcohol, and in order to purchase the alcohol you have to show your ID."

"Well, that sounds like a really good place to go." Maki agreed after hearing that spiel.

"Yeah, I think I'd like to go with you when you do." Mitsu added with a smiled.

"Me too! I wanna see this place too!" Kiri cheered.

"It doesn't sound too bad if they sell regular beverages." Juri nodded. "My parents would have a stroke if only alcohol was available."

"Too bad you can't come with me." Sayo apologized.

"Why?" Mitsu and Kiri were not happy with the tone of her voice.

"Because, I was gonna check it out today." Sayo answered. "And you two start work in half an hour."

"Gag! Is there really only half an hour left!" Kiri began to panic. She flipped her phone out of her pocket, hit a button on the side, the front of the phone lit up with the time and she sighed. "Yep…"

"Well, I guess we better get going." Maki said as she came to her feet.

"Yeah." Mitsu followed, pulling Kiri's dead weight up with her.

Kiri slumped over while standing, looking as if she would topple over herself. "Man…" she mumbled.

They turned and left for the Zest Cantina. "Hey, mail us after you visited!" Mitsu called over her shoulder.

"Sure will." Sayo replied.

The three of them exited the park, leaving Saya, Sayo and Juri alone under the sun.

"Well, let's go." Saya tossed her head toward the entrance to the park, motioning that they should get walking to that club.

"Right." Sayo nodded. Juri only smiled widely.

They exited the park, turning in the opposite direction of the Zest Cantina.

* * *

"Are you guys even listening to me?" Yankumi muttered under the roar of her class. She sighed when no one answered her question and continued their own conversations. Obviously, they weren't listening at all.

In the back of the classroom, the guys were chattering among themselves about the coming end of their high school days.

"Man, we don't have girlfriends!" Hyuga complained, laying his head on his desk in depression.

"We need girls before we leave high school." Tsuchi declared, fan in hand.

"Yeah, I wanna go on at least one goukon before the end of it all." Take admitted.

"Well you're the only one who knows a girl who goes to school with more girls." Hayato said pointedly.

"You know her too." Take countered.

"Not as well as you do." Tsuchi smirked, pointing his fan at Take.

"Fine, I'll try to set one up soon, but I won't promise anything." he gave in, hanging his head with closed eyes.

"Baka…" Ryu shook his head lightly and made sure they didn't hear him.

"We can almost get out of here." Hayato noticed, seeing the time on his phone.

"So, Hyuga and I will accompany Take to the Zest Cantina to set up a goukon with Maki-chan." Tsuchi stuck one fist to his hip, his other hand occupied by his fan still.

"All right." Hayato had no objections and Ryu wasn't saying anything.

Hyuga's head shot up after he heard what had been said. "Yeah, I'll go." he nodded his head vigorously, energy filling him with the mention of a possible goukon.

Yankumi couldn't hear them over the noise even though she was trying so hard to. "They're too soft…" she whispered to herself. "Can't hear…"

"Man, you stink!"

"I do not!"

"Yeah, you do. Don't worry, you'll find something better for yourself anyway."

"Whatever man…"

Two boys in front of her were talking as loud as the rest of the class, muffling the main group. She glared down at the boys as they ignored her and continued whatever it was they were doing.

"Good lord you guys…" she shook her while sighing and turned around to the black board. "Better put something up here for them to see that's educational…"

She wrote a few equations on the board to make it look like they were doing something. Even though that was a total joke for them. Actually doing school work.

Yankumi almost laughed at the thought of them actually being studious and willing to learn. The vision was hilarious and disturbing all at the same time. It was disturbing because they were so gruff. Could you imagine this group of boys being studious and willing to listen to someone talk for eight hours a day?

"Never going to happen." she sighed again, realizing that idea was stupid and impossible.

The rest of the class time was wasted, as usual, and the guys stormed the doors as soon as the bell rang.

"I guess that's how it'll always be with those boys…" Yankumi sighed as she exited the classroom as well.

* * *

"What do you mean you don't know the name of the place!" Saya exclaimed towards her cousin in disbelief.

"Sorry, I never really got to pay attention to the name because we were always talking when we passed by it…" Sayo explained.

"That's okay, we'll find it." Juri smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah, I remember the area and the way it looks pretty well so it should be all right." Sayo nodded her head determinedly.

"Well, at least you remember what the place looks like…" Saya mumbled as they kept walking in the direction of the two girls' night school.

They passed shop after shop and restaurant after restaurant. A few clubs and underground gambling places were passed as well. Of course, Saya and Sayo noticed those places because they're well hidden from the public eye, that way they don't get caught. Good thing Kumiko taught them the difference when they were younger. Otherwise, the girls might be heading into a lot of trouble with this idea for a graduation party.

"Come to think of it…" Juri started thoughtfully, still walking. Saya and Sayo eyed her. "Most students throw their parties before the actual ceremony, but we're throwing ours afterwards."

Saya and Sayo thought for a second before replying. "I guess you're right…" Saya admitted.

"Yeah, in a way we already are being different huh?" a crooked smile spread across Sayo's face as she kept an eye out for the club.

"Yep." Juri nodded.

The silence followed again for a few moments. Saya and Juri looked through the windows of the shops while Sayo studied every club they passed by intently. Saya and Juri kept walking, not noticing that Sayo had stopped. Saya blinked a couple times after she turned around from looking in a window at some jewelry.

"Where's Sayo?"

Juri looked around frantically. "You're right, she's not with us!"

Saya spotted Sayo staring at the place in front of her with a smile on her face. "Found her." Saya began to pull Juri's arm as she headed towards her cousin.

"Why did you stop Sayo-chan?" Juri asked before Saya could.

"Because I found the club we were looking for." Sayo's smile turned into a content smirk.

"Really?" Saya's eyes widened and her head shot to the right. "Wow…"

Juri looked over too. "It's so pretty…"

Sayo moved toward the door and put her hand on the handle. "Dream Star. I have to remember that…" she mumbled to herself.

They all took a deep breath before Sayo pulled the door open. A deep voice rang through the empty club. It wasn't a greeting though. It was a mic check.

"They must be opening soon…" Juri whispered to Saya.

"Excuse me." Sayo called as she took a few steps out of the entrance to look around.

"Eh?" the voice echoed through the room. "Is someone there?"

"Yes, I hope you don't mind but I would like to inquire about this club a little." Sayo called again.

The sound of feet thundering down the stage echoed in the room and got closer by the second. A tall man, looking to be about 20 or so, stood in front of Sayo with a curious look. It took the guy a few seconds to register the girls with what Sayo had said. He blinked a couple times before smiling widely. "Well, come on over to a table and I'll tell everything you wanna know."

"Thank you." the girls bowed and followed him to a booth not too far from where they were. The girls slid in on the right side of the booth while the man slid in across from them.

"So, what is it you want to know about?" he asked kindly.

"Well, first I'd like to know when you open." Saya asked before Sayo could start.

"We open around six thirty and close up around four thirty." he answered, thinking a little in between the times mentioned.

"Reasonable hours." Juri smiled.

"Yeah, I'd like to know what the age limits are for entering." Sayo inquired, since it was a crucial part in them deciding whether or not they would be clubbing here for their graduation party or not.

"Well, since Ids are required to buy alcohol here, the limit age is 15." he shrugged a little.

"I see…" Sayo nodded, thinking. That's plus two so far.

"What drinks do you sell to minors?" Juri needed to know.

"We sell carbonated drinks, teas, water, juice, and a few non-alcoholic mixes."

"Nice variety." Plus three.

"What are the bar prices and entry fee?" Saya again.

"Well, the bar prices depend on what you're purchasing. I'm pretty sure you ladies will be glad to hear that there is no entry fee." he smiled.

"Oh, well that is a relief." Juri chuckled a little.

"Is there a dress code?" Sayo knew this was important.

"Well, you have to look a bit hip, you know? Fashionable that's all." he shrugged again.

"By the way, what is your name?" Juri.

"Oh, right, how rude of me." he laughed. "I'm Yoshida Tamaki, the DJ here."

"So you're DJ Tama?" Sayo leaned forward a little with a wide smile on her face.

"Yep, that's me."

"Wow, I thought you might be a little older than early twenties…" Sayo admitted lowly.

"Eh? You thought I would be older than I am?" he was silent for just one single second, then he started laughing. The girls looked at him, they were very confused. "I get that all the time, I'm not surprised."

The girls blinked twice before smiling. "Well, I guess you won't mind six newly graduated high school girls in here in a couple weeks to have a good time, right?" Sayo was being sly now.

"I know I wouldn't mind helping some newly graduated girls celebrate." Yoshida smiled.

"Well, thank you very much for all the information Yoshida-san." Juri stood, the other two following.

"My pleasure ladies." he bowed.

"We'll let you get back to setting up for tonight and we'll be back soon." Saya smiled as they headed for the door.

"I look forward to seeing you girls again." he said right before they left. "Now to finish the sound check…" he mumbled to himself and headed back toward the stage.

* * *

"Are you begging Takeda-kun?" Mitsu asked in surprise with wide eyes. Never thought they'd see something like this…

"I'm not begging, I'm asking." he retorted, slightly irritated about being seen as a beggar.

Take had just asked Maki about setting up a goukon with some of her friends. Unfortunately for him, Kiri and Mitsu were eavesdropping in on them. Geez, no personal space around those two.

"Let me think about it, okay?" Maki said, washing a few cups in the sink at the same time.

"Okay." Take smiled.

"Come on man, we need girls before we graduate." Tsuchi complained.

"Yeah, I don't wanna be a bachelor after high school…" Hyuga started. "I wanna have things to boast about with other people about when I was in high school with girls…"

"You're pouting." Kiri mentioned.

"That's a total turn off." Mitsu turned up her nose.

Tsuchi and Take snickered at the face Hyuga made at Mitsu after she made that comment.

Just then, Mitsu's phone rang. The two groups looked around curiously as the little tune floated through the air. "Who's phone is that?" Take asked.

Mitsu looked curious as she pulled out her phone from her apron pocket. However, her expression changed from curious to happiness as she read the caller id. "Ooh! I bet they found the place." she said right before answering.

"Oh, good." Kiri smiled, preoccupied with making a few drinks to fill her order.

"Hello?"

Maki watched for a few seconds to see an expression. Surprisingly, Mitsu was listening intently, which she never does for anyone, ever. Well, except maybe herself… After there was no sign of a change, Maki went back to washing the cups and plates.

The guys, however, kept watching Mitsu with curious looks.

"Really?"

More silence followed. Mitsu wasn't paying any attention to anyone else. The conversation was too important to pass up. The guys quickly lost interest since she wasn't saying anything extra about the conversation.

"Eh? For real?" she sounded surprised. "By the name I thought he might have been a bit older than that…"

"Who?" Kiri came back with an empty tray looking curious, knowing what the conversation was about.

"DJ Tama."

"Oh." Kiri continued towards Maki to help dry the dishes to get them back where they belonged.

"All right. Yeah, see you later." and Mitsu hung up. She turned around with a giant smile, indicating good news to Kiri and Maki.

"So is that the place we're going to or not?" Maki inquired, a little distracted by the dishes.

"Absolutely, I couldn't even think of a better possible place for us to go to." Mitsu spewed happily as she bounded over and put away the dry dishes.

"Sweet, so Sayo-chan found it?" Kiri smiled widely.

"Obviously…" Maki mumbled.

"What are you girls talking about?" Tsuchi tried to see what they were up to.

"Our graduation party." Mitsu blurted as she grabbed a few more cups.

"Mitsu!" Maki and Kiri hissed with angry faces.

"Oops!" Mitsu mumbled as her hand flew to her mouth.

"Graduation party?" the three guys wondered curiously.

"Great…" mumbled Maki as she prepared for shooting them down from high hopes they probably had.

"Man!" Hyuga wailed.

Mitsu, Maki and Kiri looked over at him curiously. That was obviously not the reaction they expected from him at all.

"Why didn't we think of something like that!" Tsuchi complained, looking dumbfounded at their own lack of plans.

"I'm not sure…" Take murmured. "Maybe because we were so busy trying to find jobs and keep our promise to Yankumi."

"That could be true." Kiri pointed out. The guys looked up at her.

"Yeah, that just means you really do keep your word." Mitsu smiled.

"You guys are very loyal." Maki added, going back to washing the remaining cups.

"I guess…" they mumbled as they looked away with slight color.

Mitsu and Kiri started putting the rest of the cups away while Maki finished washing them.

* * *

Hayato and Ryu were wandering the streets in silence, bored out of their minds. They didn't have any plans. Although, Hayato was waiting for a call from Take about the goukon. Ryu wasn't really into those things, but the other four had strong resolve to drag him by his fingers if they had to.

It certainly seemed strange to Hayato though. It was a Sunday night, and they had nothing to do but walk around being bored. It just didn't seem right to him somehow.

After a bit of walking, the two sat down at a family restaurant and ate, before heading to the arcade. The plan was to play pool, like usual. They didn't have anything else to do!

Hayato figured his phone wasn't going to be ringing anytime soon, so he pocketed in his back pants pocket like last time (dumb move, really). To top it off, just like last time, the two made a bet. Although, the stakes were different this time.

"If I win, you have to tell me what you really think of Sayo-chan." Hayato demanded.

Ryu's face hardened. "Well, if I win, then you get to spill about Saya-chan." Ryu strengthened his resolve to win this bet no matter what. What he really thought about Sayo-chan was NOT something he wanted to discuss. Especially not with Hayato.

Hayato grimaced, but quickly replaced it with his game face. "You're on." he smirked devilishly.

They set up the table, and played janken in order to figure out who went first. Needless to say, Ryu won. That was just Hayato's luck.

So Ryu broke, and the game panned out like the norm. They were neck and neck for a little bit, then Hayato would screw up. Then Hayato would make a come back and Ryu would strengthen his resolve again, remembering what was at stake.

Just before Hayato was going to take an important shot, his phone vibrated on his butt (guess he didn't learn from last time…). Of course, just like last time, he jumped in surprise, forgetting he had placed it there, and missed the shot, barely tipping the queue ball. He cursed under his breath as he fished it out of his pocket and read the caller id.

"Oh…" his face became calm, seeing that it was Take.

Ryu kept his mind on the game. No way was he losing this bet.

"Hello?" Hayato answered, ignoring what was happening on the table top as he listened to Take.

'Hey Hayato, I think Maki-chan might actually agree to the setup.'

"Really?" Hayato sounded surprised and excited with the news. Ryu eyed him lightly before making his next shot.

'Yeah, she said if she does set it up, her and the girls might tag along too.'

"That wouldn't be bad at all." Hayato responded with an erotic, crooked smirk on his lips. His back was to the table at this point. Apparently he had forgotten about the bet him and Ryu made, which was perfectly fine with Ryu by all means.

Ryu spotted Hayato's smirk out of the corner of his eyes and sighed. That was probably not good. He made his next shot perfectly, failing to inform Hayato that he only had one more before he shot in the eight ball.

'Yeah, I wouldn't mind them tagging along myself.' Take chuckled a little through the phone.

"Tell me about it." Hayato agreed outright.

'She said she'd talk to the girls tonight and let me know in the morning.'

"Alright, just let me know next time you see me." Hayato nodded.

'Will do.' And Take hung up.

Hayato flipped his phone shut and pocketed it again, this time in his jacket pocket (smarter move). He turned around with his eyes closed.

Ryu was finally on the eight ball. Hayato would not be happy about this, he knew, but he wanted to win the bet no matter what.

When Hayato opened his eyes, his jaw dropped. He saw that there were at least four of his balls left, and none of Ryu's. "No way!"

"Way." Ryu replied blandly, as that was the reaction he was expecting from Hayato.

"I can't believe you didn't say anything to me when I was on the phone!" Hayato complained.

Ryu didn't say anything in response, just took his turn. Unfortunately, the eight ball stopped just inches away from the hole. He came so close to making it too.

Hayato laughed outright at Ryu, trying to mock him. Ryu stood nonchalantly while Hayato took his place at the table to make his shot. Ryu kept his eyes closed as Hayato took his turn.

"Oh come on." Hayato groaned. Ryu opened his eyes to see that he had missed. A small smirk slipped onto Ryu's face.

"Eight ball corner pocket." Ryu called out his shot as he positioned himself for it. Hayato sighed, he saw his future ahead of him. Ryu would make the shot and he'd be screwed. Doomed to tell his best friend what he thought of a girl.

"Great." Hayato muttered and Ryu made his shot.

It's needless to say the outcome of this little match.

The two paid for their game, left the arcade, and headed for the park for some silence. It seemed to be the perfect place for Hayato to spill. So Ryu suggested they go there, so his feelings weren't known to the public. Hayato reluctantly agreed.

The two found a bench and sat at the opposite ends. Hayato leaned forward as Ryu leaned back comfortably. Hayato was struggling with himself as to where he should start.

"I wish I never made that stupid bet with you…" he muttered pointedly at Ryu.

"Hey, it's not my fault you never learn…" Ryu replied lowly, waiting for Hayato to start.

"Well, I don't know where to start okay?" Hayato grumbled in a complaining manner.

Ryu looked over at his best friend blankly. "Just start from when you first saw her, how about that for a start?"

"I guess that's a bit logical…" Hayato shrugged and looked up at the sky, yellow and fuchsia from the sunset. "I was like the other guys at that time."

Ryu looked ahead of him at the trees in the park.

Hayato continued. "She was gorgeous, especially since she went to Momojo." A small smirk formed on his lips. "The way her and Sayo-chan bickered was cute."

Ryu then gained a small smirk as he shook his head and Hayato chuckled a little. "When Misawa said they weren't twins I was completely baffled. It seemed so unreal that they weren't you know?"

Hayato looked over at Ryu. Ryu only shrugged as an answer to the question. "But you know, when we ran into them at the Zest Cantina again, it seemed kind of unreal too. It was hard for me to believe it was the same two girls."

"I think the others felt the same." Ryu threw in lightly. Hayato looked over at him again, a little thoughtful.

"Hm. I guess you're right." Hayato shrugged again and returned his gaze to the sky. "But the one time she yelled back at us, it was interesting to see that she wasn't a girly girl."

The two were silent for a few seconds as Hayato searched for the right words. "She had spunk, lots of it. And so does Sayo-chan."

Ryu nodded his head in agreement.

"Sayo-chan may be the quieter one of the two, but Saya-chan seems more caring about others." Hayato was thinking back to when him and Ryu ran into the two girls at Yankumi's place. "I wouldn't have even began to think that those two girls and Yankumi knew each other."

"Me either." Ryu threw in again, but it was the truth.

"I think I wouldn't mind seeing them fight. Saya-chan and Sayo-chan I mean." Hayato smiled. "I think I'd actually be able to bet on them." his smile turned into a devilish smirk.

"You're a bad gambler." Ryu commented.

"Shut up." Hayato shot back before he continued. "Anyways, that night we saw them dancing was phenomenal. Who knew they were so good."

"…" Ryu didn't say anything. If he had, it probably would have given something away. What it would give away exactly, he wasn't quite sure just yet.

"I guess, you could say I like her." Hayato finally said something interesting.

Well, it was interesting enough to get Ryu to turn his head fully to look at Hayato with curiosity.

"But I need to get to know her a bit more before I say I really like her." Hayato finished.

Ryu slowly turned his head forward, thinking the whole time.

* * *

"You really put us in that kind of situation without asking us first!" Saya and Sayo both gawked at the information they just received about plans they now had.

"Yeah, sorry about that…" Maki apologized, though she knew the two wouldn't be happy about her spur of the moment decision.

"Well, I wouldn't mind going." Juri threw in innocently. "I think it'd be fun to do karaoke or something with the guys."

"Yeah, I don't think it's too bad either." Kiri smiled widely. She was agreeing just to make fun of the guys and their voices.

"Me either, it'll be fun to watch them make fools of themselves." Mitsu sounded a little cynical.

"I'm the other coordinator, so it would only make sense if I showed up…" Maki added in.

"All right, all right." Saya gave in. "I guess it wouldn't be too bad."

Sayo barely nodded in agreement. "But I sure as hell am not singing if it is karaoke." she declared.

"Never said you had to sing." Kiri pointed out.

"That's besides the point." Sayo closed her eyes and turned her head away with class.

"Burn." Saya whispered amusedly.

The other girls giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want." Kiri muttered.

"We will." Mitsu busted, and the others followed. They laughed collectively for a few minutes before the fit turn into a bunch of large heaves of straggled breaths.

"I am not amused." Kiri dead panned while they laughed.

"Ok, so will you girls go or not?" Maki asked between breathing.

"I will." Kiri was the first to answer since she hadn't been laughing like the others.

"Sure." Mitsu winked.

"I'll go too." Juri smiled sweetly.

"I guess…" Saya and Sayo mumbled in unison. "As long as they don't say or do anything stupid."

"All right then, it's settled." Maki declared. "We have a goukon next week."

"Who else are you thinking of inviting?" Juri questioned.

"Well, I'm thinking of just ten girls for those guys. That way they can bring some friends along." Maki answered. "The only thing left to do is find the other girls to go."

"We'll help." Sayo said.

"Thanks a lot." Maki smiled.

Now, the girls knew this could possibly change a few things in their relationships with the guys. However, they didn't think something like this would be taken too seriously. At least not enough to change the relationship permanently.

Saya and Sayo planned to lay low and watch the others have a good time. Juri was going to just have some fun. Kiri and Mitsu were thrill seekers, so they were in it for the fun as well, but they wouldn't mind if they came out of it with a boyfriend either…

And Maki, she was still debating whether it was wise for her to attend given Take's feelings for her…

Truth is, the girls had no idea what was in store for them on the fateful day of their goukon with the Kurogin boys that was soon to come…


	10. Chapter 6

_So, with all the uploading I'm doing, hopefully someone is out there reading this story... I know I'm enjoying writing it ^^_

_I really want to know what some people think about this... I hate feeling like I'm only pleasing myself with this story... If whoever is reading this will tell me how they feel, I will be very greatful ^^_

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* * *

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Chapter 6: A Night of Fun

Ryu was walking by the riverbank on his way to school when the other four guys came bounding toward him from behind.

"Good morning!" Take sings, in English too…

Hayato ends up in the middle with all the guys looking at him as he holds his right pinky out dramatically. "I made a promise…"

Ryu's the only one who looks confused. "Promise?"

"Don't be surprised." Hayato reassures Ryu. He's still acting dramatic… "We have a group date with some Momojo girls!" he hollers with his hand by his mouth to make it sound louder… Way too dramatic…

Hyuga and Tsuchi act all weird and relish in the joy of a group date with Hayato as Take steps up with his fist in front of him. "I set it up with Maki-chan." he sounded very proud of himself…

Ryu stays to the side while they goofed around and relished in their achievement. Tsuchi came up from behind Take and patted him on the shoulder. "Oh Take, you've gone far."

Hayato was pushed to the back of the group, but still smiling since he was too excited. "He did so well." he started to come up from the back, next to Tsuchi.

"He did." Hyuga agreed, flailing his hands in front of him like a little kid.

Hayato leaned forward, pointing over at Ryu. "Hey Ryu, you're coming too." he commanded.

The others were looking at him, waiting for the usual refusal. But it never came. Instead, what left his lips was a simple, "okay."

"Huh?" they stared at him in disbelief.

Take was the first to perk up. "That's rare, Ryu-chan coming to a date."

Tsuchi laughed and mocked, "Yeah, he's always saying, 'I'll pass.'"

Hayato laughed some more while protesting. "You're saying it wrong… 'I'll pass.'" Hayato mocked Ryu refusing to go on a date as well, but made it sound weirder than Tsuchi.

The others collectively laughed, and Ryu got a little annoyed. "I just need to sit there, right?"

"Ooh…" the others hummed.

Hayato stepped forward. "Alright, let's get it on." He held his hand out in a peace sign. The other three joined him. "We're going to make this the last high school memory of our lives, nya!" he cheered.

"Nya!" the others agreed.

Ryu stood back casually, looking over to the side.

"We're definitely gonna get ourselves some girlfriends!" Tsuchi threw in.

Right when they were all going to finish the chant, Hayato stopped and looked over at Ryu. "Oi!" Ryu looked over at him. "hurry and join us."

Ryu rolled his eyes and put his hand over theirs. "Fight-o…" Hayato started with a big, childish smile. They all lifted their hands up.

And right after they brought them back down, it was totally ruined. "Oh!" they heard a female voice ring in tune with their own, and felt the presence of another hand. They looked up only to see their teacher, Yamaguchi Kumiko, standing there with a big, clueless smile.

"So, what is this about?" she questioned, while quickly moving her hand from theirs.

"Why are you here?" Hayato asked out of annoyance.

They all seemed to lose the energy they had before she showed up.

"We're not telling you." Hyuga sang.

"It has nothing to do with Yankumi." Take shook his finger in front of his face.

"Exactly." Tsuchi agreed quickly.

"Nya!" Hyuga and Take said as they started to pass her.

"See ya." Hayato followed the others.

Ryu smiled at his friends with amusement, patted Yankumi on the shoulder, and walked on without a word.

She turned back to look at him and called out, "Odagiri…"

He stopped and turned half way around to look back at her.

"You're smiling more than usual." she commented. Ryu said nothing in retaliation, and let her finish. "You're so cuuuuute." she sang out, being the crazy adult she is.

"Shut up." he shot back, and she stopped for a second, to see him smile again, then continue walking towards his arguing friends.

Apparently they had forgotten it was White Day…

* * *

"Ah, White Day, what a perfect day to have a goukon." Mitsu sighed dreamily.

"I know." Juri agreed with a smile.

"Geez, you're such a sap." Kiri held up her nose.

"Oh please, you believed in it too." Maki cracked Kiri's image of a mature girl with that.

"Ack." Kiri's face contorted in embarrassment.

Saya and Sayo only snickered at her reaction. Mitsu and Juri followed. Maki only smirked with content while the others snickered and giggled.

"Laugh all you want!" Kiri shouted. "You guys know that there was once a time when you believed it too!"

"Well, duh." Saya and Sayo dead panned in unison.

"Everyone believes in it for some time of their life." Saya explained.

"People normally grow out of those kinds of things though…" Sayo had to watch what she was saying, taking Yamaguchi into consideration. That was a true romantic and always has been…

"Oooh! I can't wait for that goukon tonight."

The girls heard a couple of girls out in the hallway talking while they passed the chorus room. Apparently they were some of the girls Maki-chan invited to the goukon.

"Yeah, I hope they're really hot."

"I was told they were Kurogin boys."

"Me too. I bet they're from the 3-D class, since Maki-chan set it up."

"Probably so."

"Even knowing that, do you still want to go?"

"Of course I'll go! Any chance to meet a good looking guy is my favorite chance."

The girls' voices faded away as they got farther away from the chorus room.

"Well, at least they aren't scared of going because they're the idiotic brutes of Kurogin…" Kiri commented.

"I know." Saya laughed.

"They're not all brutes you know…" Sayo eyed her cousin with her eyes half open.

"That's right." Juri agreed nodding her head.

Ayumi walked in with a heavy sigh. The girls turned around to see the older woman with her head hung low. Her odd aura filled the classroom and the girls suddenly felt a chill. Saya and Sayo looked over at her, expecting slightly odd and childish words to flow out of her mouth.

"Man, White Day was never my thing…" she complained. "I never get anything back from the guys I give chocolate to on Valentines…"

They all immediately had their heads in their hands at the complaints. But those very complaints made them think about what they did with their very own chocolates. They all knew that Maki gave hers to Take because of what he did for her. But the others couldn't really remember.

"What did we do with our chocolates?" Mitsu wondered aloud.

"Uh…" the others thought hard about their answer.

"Eh?" Ayumi looked up at the group. "You girls really don't remember what you did with your chocolates?"

At that, the girls looked to the older woman in confusion. "Do you know what we did with them?" Kiri asked.

"No, I just can't believe you don't remember something like that." Ayumi answered as she moved toward her desk and set down all her papers.

The girls all seemed even more confused this time than they did the last. Something was wrong with them if they couldn't remember what they did with their Valentine's Day chocolates…

* * *

So, back in the 3-D classroom, Hayato, along with Hyuga, Take and Tsuchi, are sitting in front of the rest of the guys in the class. The only black sheep is Ryu, who's sitting to the side with his back to everyone… Hayato has a paper in his mouth that has information for their goukon on it.

"Do you want to go on a group date?" he questioned as loud, and audible, as he could with the paper in his mouth.

"Yeah!" they all yelled.

"Do you want to meet some Momojo girls?" Tsuchi asked.

"Yeah!" they yelled again.

"In that case, we will have a group date!" Hayato proposed holding out the paper he had in his mouth, sounding like an advertisement.

"Yeah!"

Of course, Ryu had to spoil it a little. "It's impossible to take everyone…" he pointed out.

Everything stopped, the rest of the guys in class looked over at him with pointed stares. It had just dawned on the four idiots running the show that, indeed, taking everyone was impossible. Hayato was so shocked he dropped the paper right out of his hands.

"You're right." Hayato's hand also flew to his mouth.

"Why?" one of the guys in the crowd of classmates asked, sounding very displeased with this.

"Actually, there's only ten girls coming." Hyuga pointed to the guys while telling them the main reason. The other being less competition…

"Sorry, we have to cut down our number." Take put his hands in front of his face and closed one eye in apology.

"How will we do that?" another classmate asked. "Do we draw names?"

"How about rock-paper-scissors?" the guys were getting restless.

"How about a fight?" they started to stand and push lightly at each other. The four idiots began to jump in to stop them, but didn't get that far.

"Group date?" Yankumi suddenly came from nowhere, settling the oncoming argument, before it got out of hand.

All the guys looked toward the front of the classroom to find their teacher standing there, looking a little serious. She quickly dropped the act and sauntered toward them with an airy feeling flowing through her. She had ran into Kujo-sensei before she entered the classroom.

"I understand how you feel."

"Eh?" they all questioned, as they were confused by her actions.

"Today's White Day." she started, setting up for getting all passionate about whatever she was going to spew, like she always does. "It's a great chance for you guys to confess."

The guys didn't say anything to that, so she kept going. "Do your best!" Then she entered her own little world. She turned her back to them and acted out the scene of her and Kujo-sensei that was playing in her head. Only it didn't stay in her head like it was supposed to…

At the end, Ryu found himself chuckling at her odd behavior. "Kya? What's she getting all happy about?"

* * *

"Ah~ it's so boring!" Kiri complained. The girls were sitting together in the park, still in their uniforms.

"I know, I'm getting really restless about tonight…" Maki admitted, looking down at her lap with slight color on her face.

"What should we wear?" Juri asked generally, with a thoughtful expression painted on her cute face.

"I don't wanna wear my uniform…" Saya pouted.

"Me either." Sayo agreed with nod of her head.

"Well, why don't we all go home, get on a conference call with each other, and decide then?" Mitsu proposed. "It beats sitting around here doing nothing."

"That sounds good to me." Saya and Sayo stood up, smiles on their faces.

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea." Kiri agreed.

Juri and Maki only nodded their consent and each headed in their own ways.

* * *

Ayumi slumped around the classroom all day. She had given some chocolate to Kujo-sensei, as Yankumi had, and hadn't gotten anything from him. The day was almost over so she decided to give up on the little glimmer of hope she had left.

"I seriously hate White Day…" she murmured bitterly while walking to the staff room.

Although she wasn't expecting it, she didn't get surprised when her cell rang out of nowhere. She grunted a little while fishing it out of her pocket and reading the caller id. There was no real reason to grunt though, it was only her sister.

"Hello?"

'Hey, Ayumi, did Saya-chan say anything about that goukon they're going on tonight?'

"No, she didn't bother to tell me where they were going. Why do you ask though?"

'Well, I was just wondering… I don't want her out too late. She still has things to do tomorrow.'

Ayumi could tell her sister was getting worried about her daughter and it was just a parental instinct. Nothing new really. To be honest, Ayumi was worried about Saya as well. She didn't know where they were going, how long they would be, nor who they were going with. The whole set up was a complete mystery.

"Well, they didn't come to school with a change of clothes, so they might show up at the house before they actually go." Ayumi decided to try to reassure her sister with a little comfort.

'All right, I'll keep an eye out for her. See you later sis.'

"Mm. See you." and they hung up.

Ayumi sighed. "Man… damn lucky daughter and her White Day goukon…" she mumbled as she started walking again.

* * *

Before she made it home, Maki got a call from Take. Can you guess what it was about?

Well, if you guessed the goukon, you're right!

"Hello?" Maki answered.

'Hey Maki-chan, it's Takeda.'

"Oh, hey Takeda-kun, what's up?"

'Oh not much really. We decided that we'll be having the goukon at the karaoke place.'

"Okay, did you get the chance to tell the guys that we're coming too?"

'Nah, I figured they deserved at least one surprise tonight, don't you think?'

"I guess." Maki chuckled a little.

'All right well, we're heading to Café de Rovne, so I'll see you later.'

"Mm. Bye."

And that was it. Now Take knew the girls were coming as well. But it was pleasurable to know that the others were unaware of them attending. This will be a fun night indeed…

* * *

"I'm home!" Sayo called as she slipped out of her shoes and into her slippers at the front door of her house.

"Oh, you did come home…" Mayumi looked back at her daughter from the living room with surprise. She hadn't expected her sister to be right about the girls going home to change clothes for the goukon.

"Yeah, we're gonna have a conference call and discuss what we should each wear tonight." Sayo smiled, heading into the living room to talk with her mom before the call started.

"About this goukon…" she started.

"Yeah?" Sayo was still smiling. She knew her mom was bound to want to know what was going on.

"Do you know where you're going tonight or how long you'll be?"

"Well, the guys haven't chosen a place yet that I know of, but I'm sure we'll be back before midnight." Sayo answered thoughtfully.

"And who might these guys be?" Mayumi had to know, seeming as Yuto would want to know if he ever caught wind of this. Then again, he wasn't home at the moment, so there was a possibility he wouldn't find out at all.

"Just some guys from Kurogin." Sayo answered, waving her hand in front of her face. "They're nice guys, trust me mom."

"Okay… Just don't tell your father about this, he'd have a fit."

"I won't mom." Sayo got out just before her phone began to ring loudly. "That's the call."

"Have fun." Mayumi got in before Sayo rushed to her bed room to continue the conference call with the other girls.

Sayo only nodded her head before she got out of her mother's sights. "Teenagers…"

Now, in her room, Sayo answered the call from her cousin, who was probably already on conference with at least Kiri and Mitsu.

"Hello?"

'Hey!' came a symphony of voices through the speaker. Luckily they had video phones so they could also see one another on the screens as well.

"Hey girls!" Sayo called into the device. "Have you found anything exciting yet?"

'Not yet…' Kiri pouted.

'Me either, this is bad.' Mitsu complained.

'Don't worry about it too much, we've still got a little time before we need to be there.' Saya tried to calm the girls down.

"Well, I don't know about you girls, but I don't want to be the first group there." Sayo informed them.

'Why not?' Kiri asked out of curiosity.

"Because the guys don't know we're coming tonight." Sayo simply put it.

'I'm calling Maki-chan now.' Mitsu said.

The phone line rang three times before she picked up. 'Hey girls.'

"Hey." they all sang.

'Hey, Maki-chan, do the guys know we're coming tonight?' Kiri wanted to make sure Sayo's information was right.

'No, only Takeda-kun does. We'll come in late to make it a complete surprise.'

"Nice plans." Sayo commented with a smirk.

'Thank you.' Maki smirked back. 'I'll get a hold of Juri. Give me one sec.'

The group went silent as the ringing was heard again. Juri picked up after two rings. 'Hey ladies, how are we doing?'

"We haven't really gotten anywhere Juri, so you're just in time." Sayo reassured the sweet girl.

'Oh, good.' Juri smiled.

'Well, what are we waiting for?' Kiri put her hands on her hips.

'Nothing. Who wants to go first?' Saya proposed.

'I would, if you ladies don't mind.' Mitsu was being a little regal, which made her look and sound funny.

'Sure, why not.' Maki shrugged.

'All right…' Kiri drawled.

"Fine by me." Sayo agreed.

'Oh, by the way, we're meeting at the karaoke bar across from the Sadajin restaurant.' Maki added before they started anything.

"Okay." they all nodded.

This just meant the other girls had to sit, watch and comment on whatever Mitsu was going to try on.

Mitsu went through about four skirt outfits, three outfits with shorts, and two pants outfits. They decided she would go with the third dress she tried on. It was a mid-thigh length dress. It had a collar, short sleeves, and the print was leopard. It was quite flattering to her. She added a pair of black heels to give more effect to the spots in the print. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= MitsuDress .jpg )

'Wow, Mitsu, that is so cute on you!' Kiri squealed.

'I know, I just love this little thing.' Mitsu smiled.

'Good thing you got it.' Maki commented.

'Really, that's a big designer dress.' Saya added in.

"Yeah, no kidding…" Sayo mumbled, she was still a little shocked at how well the dress fit on Mitsu.

'All right, my turn.' Kiri declared with a smirk. Again there were no objections and the fashion show started again.

Kiri ended up going through five different dresses, four different skirts, three pants, and twelve different shirts. Her seventh pair of shorts was the winners, along with the fifth shirt she had tried on earlier. The winning outfit consisted of a white boat neck t-shirt with big thin text in black and red, a pair of short denim shorts with gold buttons, and cream colored strap heels. It was a really cute outfit, even if it took almost forever to pick it out… (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= KiriShorts .jpg )

'It really suits you, Kiri.' Mitsu commented.

'Thanks.' Kiri smiled as she checked herself out in the mirror.

'All right, my turn.' Maki declared.

The trend started all over again, but Maki probably wasn't going to take half as long as Kiri did. She only tried on one dress before she decided she didn't want to wear a dress, and three outfits with pants. That wasn't what she wanted either, so she tried five shorts outfits. She didn't feel comfortable around a bunch of guys in that short of shorts, so she tried skirts on last. Her second choice was the best, and she went with the majority vote. She had on a loose white tee with tied sleeves that had "Take Back The Night!" printed on it in scrawled black text, a washed denim mini with a little fray, and a pair of cute white peep-toe wedge heels. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= MakiSkirt2-1 .jpg )

'Wow, I admire you, Maki-chan.' Juri gushed.

'Thanks.' Maki smiled.

"Why don't you go next Juri-chan?" Sayo suggested.

'Sure, why not.' Juri shrugged.

Juri is more of a conservative type so the girls encouraged her to wear something that went along with that. But she just picked out whatever. She tried on four dresses, ten different outfits, including shorts and skirts in those outfits. None of them worked for her, so she moved on to pants and capris. She tried on three outfits with pants before deciding against it. She ended up in a white baby doll dress with a silver star pattern and black lining at the top as the straps, a black tank top under it, black scrunched capris under the dress, and yellow peep-toe heels. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= JuriCapris-1 .jpg )

'Aw, Juri-chan you always look so cute.' Saya chuckled.

'Agreed.' the other three nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll find a nice guy soon." Sayo smiled sincerely.

'Thanks you guys.'

'All right, my turn.' Saya sounded pumped for her turn.

"Go for it." Sayo smirked.

It took a little bit to decide. It was a truly hard choice since both Saya and Sayo had such a variety of designer clothing. She tried on so much, but with the model experience, she changed relatively fast. She went through too many outfits to count. All the girls could keep up with was the end. She ended up in a pale red knit halter hoodie over an off the shoulder long sleeve shirt that was moss green fading to a grey with beads on the shoulders, black skinny jeans, and black high top converse. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= SayaOutfit .jpg )

"You really didn't need much of our help, did you?" Sayo chastised.

'Well, I did need your input.' Saya pouted.

"Whatever, it's my turn, then we can leave." Sayo shook her head.

'Yeah, we're already a little late as it is.' Maki mentioned.

"All right, I'll be as fast as I can." Sayo nodded.

Sayo's was probably the fastest, since she didn't really want to wear anything too fancy or revealing. She just wanted to be comfortable. She only tried on a few other outfits for the others' enjoyment. She went through less than half of what Saya did. Surprisingly enough, the girls gave the same comments as Takeshi did on the outfit she decided on. A white knit halter hoodie, like Saya's, over a black tank top, a dark grey layered mini skirt that wasn't denim, a really short pair of shorts under the skirt just in case, and a pair of knee high black converse. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= SayoOutfit .jpg )

'Holy crap Sayo, make us all look bad…' Kiri pouted as she admired Sayo's taste.

"We don't have anymore time to make extra comments, let's meet at the karaoke place a.s.a.p." Sayo snapped a little.

'All right, fine…' Mitsu drawled and the conference call ended.

Each girl rushed from their houses to get to the karaoke place as fast as they could.

* * *

While the girls were on their conference call, the guys gathered their classmates at the Café de Rovne to decide who went to the goukon.

Hayato stood in the middle of the crowd, the box in front of him. "Okay everyone. One time each, alright. Only one time. Got it?" he sounded quite serious, though it was a fun event…

"Alright!" they all answered.

Funaki pushed to the front to go first. Hayato was then pushed to the side roughly. He got irritated and snarled, "Don't push baldy."

Of course, Funaki had bad luck and pulled out a losing straw. Two more came up and pulled out winning straws… This upset the guys and up the box went. Over their heads and to the back of the crowd.

Hayato, plus the others, gathered around Ryu who was standing in a corner. "What do we do?" Ryu asked calmly.

"What do we do, you ask?" Hayato looked at their classmates going nuts for a second. "What should we do?"

Ultimately, there was no real solution and they all went to the karaoke bar. They got a room big enough for both groups, well sort of, got there before the girls did, and ordered tons of food. Take had been wondering when Maki and the other girls would get there… But the excitement from the event caused that thought to hit the backboard and ended up at the back of his mind. Especially when the girls arrived.

None of them had changed from their school uniforms, so it was kind of like a group meet and greet between schools… However, there were far more guys than girls…

The girls sat on the right side of the room, near the doors, and the guys had the whole other side by themselves… it was a sight to see indeed.

One of the girls in the middle leaned forward a little as the guys all stared at the ten longingly. "Excuse me, did you bring your whole class?" she asked politely.

Hayato, Hyuga, Tsuchi and Take all looked a little confused for about two seconds before the rest of the guys yelled in unison, "Yes! Nice to meet you.". Take was the only one to look to his left while the other three looked to their right… The guys were way too excited about this.

The four turned back to facing the girls. "Gomenappai." Hayato sang through his microphone. Ryu only smirked in amusement at their situation.

"Um, then…" Take started, thinking of something to change the girls' mood from scared to relaxed. "Let's start with introductions."

The guys roared in excitement again while Okuma stood up. "I'm Okuma." he started in his low voice. The girls all looked over at him and leaned away with big eyes. "My hobby is pigging out, and my special talent is falling asleep fast." He smiled, all his crooked teeth showing.

A few seconds later the girls all leaned forward again. "So cute!" they sang.

The guys all pointed in unison. "Eh?"

Their introductions took awhile since there were so many of them. After the guys were done, the girls went.

Maki and the girls finally made it to the karaoke place. They asked the clerk at the front desk about the group they were with.

"Oh, they took the second largest room." he said. "They ordered a lot too…"

"Thank you. Which room number would that be?" Juri asked kindly.

"Oh it's the last one to the left in the hallway to the right."

"Thank you sir." the girls bowed in unison and left for the room.

"We're late, you know that?" Mitsu hissed at Maki.

"I know, but we're fashionably late, so it doesn't count." Maki told her, sounding as if she was trying to reassure herself.

"The guys won't mind I'm sure. They like it when we dress like this anyways." Kiri smirked.

"True, true." Saya and Sayo chuckled.

"Well, here it is." Juri informed the others as they arrived in front of the door.

"All right, ready girls?" Maki smirked as she grabbed the door handle.

The others only nodded. Maki took a second and tried to listen through the door so she knew what was going on.

"I'm Nanami, Yukari. 16 years old. Nice to meet you." she heard one of the girls she had invited to come along introduce herself.

"I guess they're on introductions. It's not as bad as we thought." Maki reassured and then opened the door.

What they didn't know was that Yukari was at the end of the line for the girls. That had been the very last introduction made. When everyone in the room heard the door knob turn, their heads shot to the door in curiosity. The six girls filed in to the front of the room and faced both groups with smirks and smiles.

"Sorry we're late Takeda-kun." Maki apologized to the boy who looked shocked for a few seconds.

Then it hit him again, they were coming to the goukon too. "Ah! It's all right Maki-chan." he smiled.

"You were coming too?" Tsuchi asked, dumbfounded by their presence.

"You didn't tell us they were coming?" Hayato questioned Take in slight anger.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Take chuckled.

"Yeah, don't be mad at Takeda-kun." Kiri shook her head. The guys looked at her curiously.

"We told him to make it a surprise." Mitsu smirked with pleasure, seeing how well this tactic worked.

"Maki-senpai, Saya-senpai, Sayo-senpai!" the girls looked at the group.

"Hey." Sayo smiled at the girls.

Saya and Maki only waved a little.

"Eh? Misawa-kun?" Saya gawked happily at this surprise.

"Ah! Saya-san, Sayo-san. It's been awhile." Misawa smiled as he stood from the group he was with.

Saya walked over to him and gave him a friendly hug, causing the others to get jealous, including Hayato.

Sayo walked over to him as well and gave him a friendly hug. "Hey."

"It's good to see you two again."

"Same here." they both replied in unison.

All of the guys who didn't know about the two shivered at the creepiness of their unison.

"Why don't you introduce yourselves as well?" Take suggested, handing Maki the microphone he had.

"All right, I guess we could." she said as she accepted the microphone from him. "I'm Mizushima, Maki. 18 years old. Nice to meet you." she smiled and passed the microphone to Juri.

"I'm Kitano, Juri. 18 years old. Nice to meet you all." her sweetness caused the guys to go silent as she passed the microphone to Mitsu.

"I'm Hasegawa, Mitsu. 18 years old. Nice to meet you." she passed the microphone to Kiri.

"I'm Jinnai, Kiri. 18 years old. Nice to meet you." Kiri smirked as she handed the microphone to Saya who had moved back over by the girls, along with Sayo.

"I'm Minami, Saya. 18 years old. Yoroshiku ne." and the microphone made it to Sayo finally.

"Tsukioka, Sayo. 18 years old. Yoroshiku." Sayo was very to the point, showing she wasn't too enthusiastic about this, and gave the microphone back to Take.

The girls then commenced to moving to a seat. They passed by the girls to the end of the couch with their backs to the guys, who enjoyed the view very much, and sat down one at a time. Sayo ended up on the floor, which made her very glad she decided to wear shorts under her skirt for various reasons.

"You sure you're not uncomfortable down there Sayo?" Saya had asked her before the noise made it impossible to hear.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Sayo only nodded.

The guys passed the six girls a menu and told them to order themselves something. They each only ordered a drink after they saw the table full of food… Sayo ended up with the menu on the floor next to her. She watched as the party started and they all mingled with each other. She laughed at Saya and the others when they were singing. She knew she had to laugh at Hayato when he sang, or else this really wouldn't be any fun at all.

Ryu ended up sitting closer to her than she had thought he would. The rest of their classmates moved to the front of the room as they all got into singing like maniacs. Saya was right up there with Hayato having a blast. Maki was pointing and laughing. Kiri was dancing, though it wasn't like when she danced for real. Mitsu was the same. Hyuga had swapped places with one of the other girls to chat them up. He was really looking forward to getting some e-mail addresses…

Sayo finally received her drink from her cousin. "Hey, Sayo! Got your drink."

"Thanks." she stood and grabbed it from Saya.

"You still comfortable down here? You can move to the couch you know." they had to speak loudly because of all the noise.

"Mm. I'm fine, just go have fun okay?" Sayo leaned back against the wall and sank down slowly.

"Hmm… All right…" Saya left reluctantly, but quickly forgot to have fun.

Sayo only shook her head at Saya with a smile. She sipped on her drink while observing. Since there were a lot of people in the room, she couldn't feel Ryu's eyes on her. In her head, she was listening to the karaoke that was going on and making a list of the mistakes she heard. Though, that was really hard to keep up with since every other one was a mistake…

Of course, it was needless to say Ryu was bored. He didn't do events like this. It just isn't his thing. At the moment, he just looks like a pretty decoration. Although, the same could be said for Sayo as well. She goes to more goukons than Ryu, but that doesn't mean she likes them.

Even though they weren't near each other, they both sat silently, watching the others have fun. Sipping on their drinks occasionally. Sayo finished hers faster than Ryu did and sat the empty glass on the floor next to her.

Sighing, Sayo got up from the floor with a blank face. Saya saw her before she did anything else. Saya only said something when she saw Sayo heading for the back door. "Hey, where you going Sayo?"

"Just getting some fresh air…" Sayo lied. She really just wanted to get away from the noise and be alone for a little bit. Even if it meant leaving the room to go to another one.

"Okay." Saya shrugged, believing in her cousin fully. She turned around and joined the frolic again.

Sayo continued out he back door and shut it behind her. She sighed once out in the hallway and stood for a moment, then proceeded to another room down the hall.

Ryu wasn't stopped by anyone on his way out after Sayo, but he knew one of the guys saw him leave. He left his drink on the table near where he was sitting and passed Hyuga chatting up a girl. He got out of the room just in time to see Sayo walk into another one down the hall that he presumed was empty, or else she probably wouldn't enter.

He stood outside the door listening silently for a few minutes. He was quite tempted to look in but restrained himself from being too weird. His excuse was, if he got caught, that he was just a little concerned and curious.

The silence ceased after those few minutes and a beat started with her voice mixed in. It was very faint to hear outside the door, so he cracked it open as quietly as he could. Once he got the door open, he could hear the song more clearly. It was Utada Hikaru's "Can You Keep A Secret?". Sayo was singing it without looking at the lyrics. She looked so into it too.

"_Tsutaeyou, yameyou (I'll get it across, I'll stop)_

_Kono mama kakusou (Just hide it away)_

_Nigekirenaku naru made (Until I can't run away anymore)_

_Shinjiyou, dame da you (I'll believe, that's no good)_

_Mada utagaesou da mono" (Cause I still don't wanna believe it)_

He slowly opened the door more in order to slip in. Sayo was sitting on the end of the table closest to the TV screens with the microphone in her hand. She was so into the singing that she didn't even notice his presence at all.

"_Ima made zutto himitsu ni shiteta (I've kept it quiet all this time)_

_Dare ni mo iwanaide (Don't tell anybody)_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Kanashikunai yo kimi ga iru kara (I'm not sad, cause you're here)_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Kizutsukenai to yakusoku shitemo (Even if I promise not to hurt you)_

_Dare ni mo wakaranai (Who knows really?)_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Kanashikunai yo kimi ga iru kara (I'm not sad, cause you're here)_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Or kono mama secret?" (Or do I have to keep it secret?)_

He clapped when she finished singing. She was startled and turned around to find her peeper. She seemed to tense up a little when she saw him. Her eyes got a little wider and her eye contact quickly found the TV screens again.

"Thanks…" she muttered.

He didn't say anything in return, he only moved to the couch along the far wall and sat down near her. She then moved to the other couch.

"It was nice, didn't know you could sing too." he commented blankly.

She glared at him a little but didn't hold it very long before looking back down at her lap. She was trying to think of something to say, or a way to get even with him. So far, she had nothing.

He wanted to ask about her song selection, but given the look she gave him, he figured that wasn't something she would answer. Well, not if he asked anyways. Maybe if Saya asked her, but not him.

"All right." her head shot up and she looked determined. He held his ground and returned her stare. "Since you heard me sing without my consent, you have to sing too."

That was her demand. Not a proposal, not a suggestion. A demand. And he recognized it too.

Ryu sighed inwardly, knowing that her reaction will be the same as his was when he heard her singing. Of course, this was something neither of them wanted to deal with, but had somehow stumbled upon the subject unknowingly. How inconvenient.

"Fine." he closed his eyes and sat on the table, like she had, to select a song to sing. It took him a good few minutes to decide which song wouldn't have as much of an impact on her.

So he chose the song "Feel Your Breeze" by V6. Very few seconds passed before the song started. His song was unintentionally just like hers. It started with music and singing at the same time…

"_Kitto yoru wa nagaku (Of course the night is long)_

_Fukaku shizundeta hou ga (And you sink down deeply)_

_Asahi noboru toki wa (When the sun rises up in the morning)_

_Sou, kirameku hazu sa" (Yes, it'll be gleaming)_

Sayo laid down before she had the urge to stare outright at him and gawk at his singing voice. She just laid there on her stomach with her feet to his back and her head on her crossed arms facing the back wall.

"_Kitto yume wa tooku (Of course the dream is far off)_

_Sora ni kasundeku you de (And the sky grows hazy)_

_Dakedo kaze wa omoi (But the wind softly)_

_Sotto noseteyuku kara" (Carries our feelings)_

Once the song ended and the screens went back to playing the demo reel, Sayo opened her eyes but couldn't say anything. She laid there in silence not knowing how to express the way she felt.

Ryu watched her back for a minute or two, then decided he'd sing another song to help her words along. Well, let's face it, he knew she wanted to say something, but didn't know what she would say. Although, she didn't know what she wanted to say either. However, he decided against singing again.

"Happy now?" he said instead, breaking the silence.

Sayo lifted her head a little and turned to look at his back over her shoulder. She thought for a few seconds. She turned her head back since her neck was starting to hurt and shifted to a sitting position. "I guess…"

He turned his head a little to peer at her. She had her eyes closed and the atmosphere became awkward again.

Sayo sighed, standing from her seat on the couch. Ryu peered back at her again. She stretched her limbs and yawned once. She then proceeded to stand there silently, thinking.

Ryu returned his view to the televisions in front of him, watching the demo reels go by. He was bored now.

"You know…" Sayo started lowly, almost as if she didn't want to be heard. Ryu didn't look back, he could slightly see her in the television screens anyway. "I honestly didn't think you would go along with that…" she chuckled a little.

She wasn't expecting any answer from him, so she was surprised when he responded with boredom. "Well, there wasn't anything else to do."

Sayo only smirked and shook her head at his response. Making her way slowly to the back door from which he had entered, she put her hand on the knob before opening it. She looked over at his back sincerely.

"Thank you though. You didn't have to do it." her gaze drifted to the plain door before her. "I know I was being really childish and I apologize for that."

Ryu stayed quiet, watching her as closely as he could on the television screens.

"I really enjoyed hearing you sing." Sayo then opened the door and left the room.

Once she was gone, Ryu turned around to look at the door. Although, it was a little useless since his face was emotionless… He was wondering what had compelled her to say those things. Better yet, why he took her earlier demand so seriously and actually conformed. Anyone else, probably, and he would have flat out refused to. But something was different about this situation apparently.

He didn't know though, so it bugged him like hell.

* * *

While Sayo and Ryu had their private session of karaoke, the rest of their groups were having fun in the party room. A little smoke floated through the room, girls were sitting on guys' laps, Hayato was singing enthusiastically, Saya by his side, Hyuga still pining for email addresses, Take acting cute, and Tsuchi mingling with girls.

Hayato and Saya let a couple others take over for a little bit while they rested. Hayato observed everyone in the room, making sure everyone was still there and accounted for. Hyuga near the back, Take in the middle, Tsuchi in the front, plenty of other 3-D boys around the room, but no Ryu.

Hayato sipped on his drink a bit and counted the girls in the room for the same reason as the latter. Mitsu's up by the microphone having fun, Maki's sitting by Take watching the others, two of the other girls were with Hyuga, about three were up with Mitsu, Kiri bouncing around on a small sugar high, Saya was right next to him, the rest of the other girls were dispersed among the guys, but no Sayo.

"That's odd…" Hayato mumbled loud enough for Saya to hear him.

"What's odd?" she looked at him curiously.

"Ryu and Sayo-chan aren't here." he informed her, still looking around the room. "Wonder where they went to…"

"Well, Sayo said she was going to get some fresh air…" Saya put her finger to her chin. "But I don't know where Odagiri-kun went."

"Hmm…" Hayato sat there with his fist on his chin, thinking of the possibilities. "Nah, they wouldn't be doing something like that…" he expelled all odd thoughts from his head. He had to remember that Ryu didn't even know how he felt about Sayo. Plus, Hayato didn't even know how Sayo feels either.

"Well duh!" Saya dead panned, as if it were obvious that what he was thinking of was the very last thing those two would be doing together at this point in their relationship. Which it was, actually.

Hayato glared at her lightly before resuming his brainstorm. "Damn, now I'm really curious about where those two went…" he grumbled. His brainstorm was apparently getting him nowhere…

"Whatever…" Saya returned her attentions to her drink.

* * *

Sayo, after leaving the karaoke room with Ryu, couldn't get herself to stop blushing. She could feel her heated cheeks. She kept taking deep breaths and putting her hands to her face.

"It's no use…" she mumbled to herself.

She smacked her cheeks three times to pep herself up, but couldn't build up the courage to go back into the party room where the others were.

"I'll go to the bathroom…" she mumbled again and headed toward the bathrooms, which were in between the actual karaoke bar and a restaurant in a hallway.

* * *

Tsuchi had gone to the bathroom too. He really had to go. It was bad, he almost didn't make it in time. Luckily one of the urinals was unoccupied.

Another man came in after him. So, being courteous and all, he didn't make eye contact with the man. Although the other man began talking to himself…

"Ah, if I don't go home soon, I'll get yelled at by Sachiko-san…" the man mumbled while peering at his watch.

"But Yukari-chan sure is cute." Tsuchi commented absently.

The two realized they were speaking their thoughts and looked over at each other.

"Good evening…" both of them greeted with a small bow.

The older man had to do a double take. "Tsuchiya!"

"Saruodori!" Tsuchi looked a bit shocked to see his Kyoto-sensei in the bathroom…

"It's Sawatari." Kyoto-sensei corrected. "What are you doing here?" he questioned accusingly.

"Whaccha mean 'what'?" Tsuchi looked over at him for a second. "Same thing as you."

Right after that little answer, Tsuchi made a semi-quick getaway, while trying to zip up his pants…

"Wait. Wait!" Kyoto called after him but still had a little malfunction so he couldn't move quite yet…

Tsuchi made it out of the doorway and hid under a trashcan lid. Kyoto ran out while wiping his hands with his handkerchief. He stopped in between the restaurant and the karaoke bar. Staring at the karaoke bar, he quickly jumped to the conclusion that if Tsuchi was there, the rest of the 3-D crew must be in there as well. He rushed into the restaurant to inform the rest of the teachers, who were having a party…

After Sawatari was gone, Tsuchi ran back into the karaoke bar as fast as he could and found the room. By this time, Sayo was already back, along with Ryu, who received a fair amount of questioning before he was able to relax. Tsuchi busted through the door right as Hayato was singing and getting the whole room going. After the door opened, all eyes were on Tsuchi, who was on the floor.

"I saw Kyoto in the bathroom." he said with Hayato's microphone in his hand.

"Eh?" the whole room echoed.

"Why is Saru here?" Hayato yelled.

"I don't know. Let's get out of here." Tsuchi suggested, microphone still in hand.

And of course, the guys all followed… It's needless to say that Tsuchi and Hayato were the first one's out the door…

Take still had his microphone in his hands so he announced, "Run guys."

All the guys were struggling with themselves in the rush to get out of the room. Ryu grabbed Hyuga on his way out. Of course, Hyuga was so close to scoring his first email address.

"Let's go." Ryu said quickly when he passed him the first time.

Hyuga looked up at him. "But I didn't get her email address yet." he complained.

Ryu turned around and pulled him up by his arm. "Hurry."

"Why?"

The girls kind of just stood around dumbly… "Those idiots…" Saya mumbled.

"Let's go pay our share girls." Maki informed. They all nodded and exited in a calm manner.

* * *

Tsuchi stumbled out the entrance of the building, his briefcase falling out of his hands as he clashed with the ground, the guys not far behind him. Hayato and Hyuga were the next two out. Hyuga was being pulled along by Ryu and Take, each on one side of him.

"Let's get Outta here!" Hayato was yelling, following Tsuchi to the left.

"Her email address!" Hyuga cried in distress as the other two followed Hayato and Tsuchi.

The rest of the guys filed out, every other one going the opposite way. Hayato had gotten in front of Tsuchi somehow… Anyway, he started to slow down halfway down the street, slumping over like a lost puppy with a pouting face.

"Hurry." Tsuchi quickly picked him up by the neck of his school jacket and dragged him along too. "Hurry, what are you doing?" he asked as he did so.

After all of 3-D were out of sight, Sawatari and the other male teachers came rushing out of the building.

"Eh, which way did they go?" Sawatari asked, looking in both directions.

"This way!"

"And that way!" The rest of the teachers told him, pointing in both directions.

"Then let's split into two groups." Sawatari reasoned.

"We'll go this way." Inomata-sensei pointed to his left, suggesting that he and Kameyama-sensei would go together.

"So we'll go that way." Baba-sensei jabbed his thumb to the right, after the other two teachers took off.

Then, the three left took off in a hopeless search for the boys of 3-D.

* * *

Now, our main five are on a bridge by a train going by, all out of breath. They're all mumbling incoherently before they stop midway on the bridge to catch their breath.

"They aren't after us anymore." Tsuchi huffed, leaning against the rail.

Hayato was all hunched over, breathing hard, his face still looking like a lost puppy's. Take was right next to him with a shocked expression on his face.

"I was so surprised." he said with no facial movement but his mouth.

Hyuga was behind the two, holding his phone close to his face. "I could've gotten her email address back there…" he complained in a really whiny voice.

Ryu and Tsuchi were now bent over, breathing hard, while Hayato attempted to use his jacket as a fan… It didn't work very well, but he kept at it. But before they could really relax, the karaoke bar manager came running up to them with a police officer right next to him.

"Those are the guys." he said, pointing at the exhausted 3-D boys. "They left without paying."

The guys heard those words and started looking around, panicked. Of course, Hyuga was still too occupied about his loss of an email address… Hayato got paranoid. "What? What?" he asked.

Two more cops came up from behind them. Hayato looked over at the two new guys. "Huh? What?" he looked back at the manager again.

"Tell me what it is." Hyuga says, as if there was a girl in front of him, still in his daze about the email address…

As the cops closed in on them, they huddled back to back in a circle.

"We forgot to pay!" Hayato yelled, his face showing his true distress. And to think, he was having so much fun not too long ago…

"Because we had to run for it." Tsuchi followed, holding his briefcase under his arm, the guys turning themselves in circles…

Ryu kind of half smirked at the cops as they kept turning, then it faded quickly. His face seemed to show the fact that they were in deep shit and he knew it.

It's needless to say they got taken down to the station…

* * *

A lot ensued after that very night. Ryu hadn't come to school the next morning.

Honestly, the girls loved the fast flow of information around the schools. So, it wasn't surprising that news about Ryu not coming to school that day was floating around their school.

It was something the girls thought Sayo shouldn't have heard though. She was so intent on finding out the truth, even if she had to go over to the guys personally.

"Look, I'll go ask them instead, ok?" Saya told her in the hallway, away from the other girls. "You can stand by the gate of the school while I go talk to them. After I'm done we can go see him."

"How do you know they'll give you his address?" Sayo questioned skeptically, knowing how Saya was when it came to subtly.

"If worst comes to worst I'll just pound it out of Yabuki…" Saya muttered.

"Right." Sayo nodded her head sarcastically. "Not with Kumiko-senpai there!"

"Ill make sure she isn't ok?" Saya reassured her cousin. "All right, let's get this over with."

Sayo only sighed while nodding, and the two set out to the den of 3-D.

* * *

So, while Yankumi was in the superintendent's office with Ryu's dad and Kyoto-sensei, Saya and Sayo snuck over to Kurogin to find the guys. Sayo stayed out by the gates like Saya told her to. Although, staying there drove her insane with paranoia…

Saya made her way through the corridors of the old building where 3-D was located. It took her so long though. By the time she finally found the room, Yankumi was there and the atmosphere was really serious. She peered through the glass covertly, observing teacher status. There she was, in the middle of all the guys, discussing Ryu. She stood quietly outside the back doors, listening to the conversation, waiting for Yankumi to leave.

"What do you mean he's not coming to school?" Tsuchi asked seriously.

"Don't tell me it's because of yesterday." Take said, not liking what was to come out of the teacher's mouth.

Yankumi stayed quiet so Hayato answered. "Maybe."

"Ryu's not answering his cell phone either." Hyuga looked a little dazed while he informed her of that.

"Maybe he's…" Tsuchi started, looking down at the floor. "being locked up at home."

The whole class looked at him like he was insane or something. "That's impossible." Hyuga countered.

"What do we do?" Hayato was genuinely concerned for his best friend and Saya could hear that in his voice. She looked down at the floor, feeling sympathy for him. "We're all going to graduate together right?" he stood up.

Saya's eyes wandered back into the room when she heard the chair move.

"Are we going to leave him alone?" Hayato yelled. Saya could hear it in his voice, he was really concerned.

"Obviously not." Yankumi retorted. "But I don't know what to do right now."

Take stood up and looked at Hayato. "Hayato, what do we do?"

Hayato couldn't answer and Yankumi left the room silently. The class remained silent for a while before returning to it's normally loud nature.

Saya tip toed closer to the doors, trying to be as subtle as possible. "Psst!"

The guys didn't quite hear her because of all the ruckus in the room.

"Oi!" she tried, a little louder than last time.

Three of them sighed, they were thinking really hard about what to do for Ryu. But they hadn't come up with anything either.

"Yabuki-kun!" she raised the volume a little more.

This time, he heard his name and turned around, a confused look on his face. "Saya-chan?"

"Good, you finally heard me." she stood up and got a bit closer to him. "So, what's up with Odagiri-kun now?"

"We're not sure…" Hayato looked away while the guys looked over at the two.

"Hey guys." Saya waved a little at the three.

"Oh, what are you doing here?" Take asked, confused.

"Just a little recon for Sayo." she smiled.

"Where is she?" Tsuchi asked, curious as to why the other girl wasn't there herself.

"She's out by the school gates."

"Why are you doing recon for her? Is she sick or something?" Hyuga questioned. He really can be rude sometimes.

"Because. She'd get too worked up finding out the truth, so I'm doing it for her." Saya sounded irritated by his question. She didn't want to give anything away about her cousin that she knew Sayo didn't want anyone else to know.

"So what do you want to know?" Hayato asked seriously.

"Well, if it's ok with you guys, we want to go visit him." Saya smiled innocently, trying to get her way.

"Okay…" Take drawled.

"So?" Tsuchi didn't see the significance in the smile either…

"SO, I need to know where he lives in order to do that, hello!" seriously, talk about having to point out the obvious here…

"Oh yeah…" Hyuga chuckled a little. Saya only glared at him.

"Why do you want to do that?" Hayato inquired, not seeing the purpose of the two girls visiting his best friend.

"Can't we just visit a friend like any normal person!" Saya was starting to get angry.

"I guess…" Take mumbled, looking at the ceiling.

"Damn right you guess. Now, if you'll please." Saya held out her hand.

"Fine, I'll write it down here for you." Hayato quickly scribbled down Ryu's address and gave her the slip of paper.

"Thank you~!" she smiled childishly and headed out.

"Girls…" the four sighed after she left.

* * *

Saya came bouncing out of the building with the slip of paper in her hand and a smile on her face. "Alright! I got it!" she called to reassure Sayo.

Sayo blinked and looked over at her cousin. "Really?"

"Really." Saya answered, smile still radiating brightly as she came to a stop in front of Sayo.

"Well, will you come with me?" Sayo whispered, almost as if she were embarrassed or scared to go by herself to visit the boy.

"Sure." Saya nodded and her smile turned sincere.

"Thanks." Sayo smiled back.

"Well, come on, let's go before the guys get out of school and do something stupid." Saya suggested.

"Why do you say that?" the girls started walking.

"Because they have this weird thought stuck in their heads that he's being locked up at his own home…" Saya muttered as if something of that nature were impossible.

"Hmm…" Sayo only looked down at the pavement as they kept walking down the street.

For all they knew, it could be the truth. But who knew? All Sayo wanted to do was see him to make sure he was all right. She wanted to be a good friend if nothing else.

_To be continued…_


	11. Chapter 7

_ So, I got a few reviews. I'm so happy there are people who are reading and enjoying my story! I will try my best not to disappoint you, and myself. So, until I have finished working on my next chapter, I will leave ou with this one._

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Chapter 7: Dealing With Complicated Family Matters Is Hard

So, Ryu is at home, locked in his room. His mom had just brought in his breakfast for him. He only stared at his white walls and thought about his life and friends. What the guys might be up to. His school jacket was still where he set it next to him to hide it from his mom. He looked over at it longingly. He wanted to see his friends, not white walls. He wanted to see the graffiti on the classroom walls, the blackboard with funny writing and doodles on it. He wanted to hang out with the guys, and maybe even the girls, after school.

This, however, was not what he wanted.

He tried every way of escaping the house, but he was caught every time. Stopped at every corner. It really is sad when you're a prisoner in your own home. At least, that's what he felt like. And that's probably what the situation would seem like to any outsider.

But it was his father's way of keeping him "under control".

His mom had left the room for twenty minutes before she came back to speak with him through his door. She knocked first.

"What?"

"There's a girl here who claims she knows you." she says, a little muffled by the door.

"So?"

"She wants to see you."

"What's her name?" he asks, just to get his mom out of his hair.

"Tsukioka, Sayo."

His eyes widened a bit. What was she doing there? How did she know where he lived? How did she know he wasn't at school? And why would she want to see him?

"Do you want me to let her in?" his mother questioned again.

"Sure." he answers, trying hide his surprise of the sudden visit.

All he heard was her retreating footsteps.

It was silent for about one whole minute, and then her footsteps returned, with lighter ones right behind hers. He figured that was Sayo. The footsteps stopped for a moment.

"You'll only have twenty minutes." his mother informed Sayo. "I'll be right out here and inform you when the time is up."

"Yes ma'am." Sayo sounded like she understood his mother, but there was a small hint of uncertainty.

Just then his bedroom door was opened by his mother and Sayo was let in. His mother looked at him questioningly. Her question was if he understood her as well.

"I got it." he told her with his eyes closed. "You don't have to stand at the door, it's fine."

She reluctantly shut the door behind Sayo and stood outside, keeping an eye on her watch for the time.

About two minutes of silence went by. Sayo stood there, staring at his white carpeted floors, searching for something to say to him. He wasn't looking at her either. He was too busy thinking about reasons why she would come to see him, how she knew he wasn't at school, and how the hell she found out where he lived.

Sayo looked up at him through her bangs and saw him staring blankly at his wall again. She looked back down at the floor. "Um…" she started lowly, not sure if she had caught his attention.

Of course she caught his attention! There was no other noise in the room except for her voice!

He looked over at her blankly, hiding his true thoughts.

"Am I intruding?" she asked, uncertain of anything, but saying something because she had his attention.

"No."

She didn't reply, but only smiled a little. Due to her discomfort, she started observing his room a bit. "Too much white for me." she chuckled.

"It's relaxing." he told her.

"Is that really why?" she asked, her back to him.

"Kind of." he admitted.

"Hmm." she nodded her head, turning to look at his sliding glass doors. "A balcony?"

"Yeah."

"Must be a nice view." she had a dreamy look on her face.

"If my room were on the other side of the house, yeah." he scoffed a little. She looked over at him curiously. He continued. "All you can see is the street."

"I guess you're right." she looked back over at the glass doors.

He sat and watched her for a moment. He knew his mother could hear all that they were saying and he figured that was why Sayo wasn't speaking much about school or the others.

"How did you know about this place?" he asked her, not trying to seem curious nor serious, which he was both…

"Eh?" her head snapped in his direction again and an expression of question played her face for a few seconds before she registered his question in her head fully. "Oh, Yabuki-kun told Saya."

His eye twitched twice and he blinked three times. "Is that so…" he murmured. Oh how Hayato was going to get it this time.

Ryu looked over at his school uniform jacket with an intent glare. It was only then that Sayo actually got a really good look at him. He wasn't in the usual graphic t-shirt and slacks that he wore to school on a regular basis. He was actually wearing a white pinstripe button down with black jeans and socks. Even his hair seemed different from when she saw him. The only thing that was absolutely the same was the necklace he always wore.

She had to pry her eyes away from him so it didn't look like she was staring at him when he tore his gaze from the jacket again. So she walked to the curtains he had hanging in front of the sliding glass doors that led to his balcony. He watched her back as she did so.

She was wearing a black pullover hoodie, khaki cuffed sorts and white ankle socks. He assumed she was wearing some sort of sneaker or tennis shoe when she came over. He got quite curious when she pulled the curtain back a little and slipped in behind it.

"Even if you can only see the street…" she began, an airy feel to her voice. "it's still a nice view."

"I guess…"

Ryu heard her sigh. He looked over at his desk and black chair with his breakfast still sitting there. The sound of her rustling behind the curtain caused his head to turn back to her.

She was slipping her arms out of the sleeves of her hoodie. His face contorted slightly with curiosity. What is she doing? She turned to the side and up went the rest of her hoodie.

Ryu, not thinking straight for once, quickly turned his head the second after her saw her silhouette through the curtain with no sign of a wrinkled shirt. She tied the hoodie around her waist and emerged from behind the curtain sighing again.

"Man, I don't know why I'm so hot…" she mumbled to herself, using her hand to get her hair to stop sticking to her neck.

When Ryu heard that he looked back over at her. To his comfort, she was wearing a navy blue racer back t-shirt. Of course, to his dismay, her white bra straps peaked out from under the thick straps of the t-shirt. But it was better than her being in just her bra…

Sayo stood at the foot of his bed and looked around the room again, taking in details she had missed before. For example, the black rimmed mirror, his dark brown trim, the black chair at his desk, and his navy blue comforter on his bed.

"It really isn't a bad room though." she commented with a small smile.

Ryu didn't say anything, he just nodded as his eyes wandered from her to the white walls again. The silence led to his mind clouding with thoughts. It distracted him, so he didn't see her move to the side of his bed. He only noticed when he felt the bed sink a little with her weight next to him.

His head snapped in her direction with question. They both figured they didn't have much time left though. His mind worked quickly and he came to the conclusion that she was going to be as silent as possible while asking about things she probably shouldn't with his parents around.

With her back to him, she whispered. "So how did this happen?"

"Not quite sure." he replied.

"Do you think it has to do with last night?"

"Maybe."

"But why would your dad take you out of school?" she sounded curious and concerned.

"He wants me to take over for him." he answered dully.

"What does he do?"

"He's the chief of police."

"Oh." she blinked a couple times, taking the information in.

"You have five minutes left." his mother called through the door.

"Yes ma'am." Sayo replied, making sure the woman heard her.

"Is Saya-chan here?" he asked in a hushed tone, returning to their little conversation.

"Yeah, she's outside." Sayo told him with a nod. "Your mom would only let one of us in, so Saya volunteered to wait outside."

"Hm."

Sayo was starting to feel a little uncomfortable sitting that close to him, so she stood up. However, before she could walk away, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back on the bed. Sayo didn't look at him.

"If you see the guys, tell them I'm sorry." he whispered.

"For what?" she tried not to stutter and sure as hell wasn't going to look at him, she knew her face was flushed. He was still holding her wrist…

"For last night."

"Okay."

The silence floated down again. Knowing their time was coming to a close, Sayo decided to tell him why she had come in the first place.

"Why did you come here anyway?" he beat her to it though…

"I can't visit a friend?" she tried her best not to stutter again and ended up sounding a bit hurt.

"I guess you can, but why me?"

She sighed and mustered all the strength she had to try to look normal in the face. She turned her head to look at him seriously. "I do consider you a friend, so why not visit you?"

He had no answer. He only looked at her with solemn brown orbs swimming with hidden emotions.

She turned her head away from him again. "I just wanted to know why your dad showed up to school instead of you." her voice was really low, so he barely heard her.

"One minute." his mother announced again.

"Yes ma'am." Sayo responded again.

Ryu finally let go of her wrist and let her get up. Once standing, Sayo untied her hoodie from her waist and pulled it back over her head. She didn't want it to look like something had happened between the two of them.

"Hey."

Sayo turned around to look at him curiously. "Yeah?"

"Let me see your cell phone."

Sayo blinked twice. She was a little confused but she complied. "Okay…" she fished it out of her shorts pocket and handed it to him.

"Nice…" he mentioned under his breath. Sayo only smirked at that. He put his email address and phone number in there for her. "Here." he held it out to her once he was finished.

Sayo nodded her head and gently grabbed it out of his hand, their fingers brushing a little. Not good. Shivers ran down her spine and she felt the color trying to resurface. She held it down as best she could.

"I put my number and email address in there so you can contact me when I get mine back." he explained so it didn't seem like he was taking information from her cell phone.

Though, he didn't know she would never suspect him of something of that nature.

"Oh, thanks." she smiled.

She turned around and took two steps before realizing that she wouldn't know when he did get his phone back. She looked around for a pen and a small piece of paper to write on. She found both on his desk and quickly jotted down her information for him.

"Here." she said, as she turned around and moved back over to his bedside. She held the slip out to him. "It's my information. Contact me when you do get your phone back."

Ryu only nodded his head and accepted the piece of paper.

Suddenly, they both heard the door handle unlock. Sayo's head snapped in the direction of the door and she quickly moved away from the bedside. Ryu hid the piece of paper in his jacket pocket.

His mother entered the room slowly. "Your time is up."

Sayo only nodded her understanding to the older woman. She turned her head to look at Ryu. "Well, see you later Odagiri-kun."

"You don't have to call me that."

"Eh?" she blinked in confusion.

"It's too formal. You can just call me Ryu." he told her.

"I…" she started but stopped. "I'll have to think about it." she smirked at him and left the room.

His mother looked at him curiously. That little banter between them was cute, his mother even had to admit that in her head. Returning her thoughts to showing the girl out of the house, she closed his door again and it locked.

Sayo made her way to the front entrance of the house and sat down to get her sneakers on. Ryu's mother stood behind her, watching the girl closely.

"If you don't mind me asking…" she started as Sayo stood. Sayo turned and let the older woman have her attention. "How long have you known my son?"

"Not very long, really. We had just met for the first time the week of Valentine's." Sayo answered truthfully.

The mention of Valentine's caught his mother's attention and made the woman even more curious about their relationship. "I see…"

Sayo walked to the front door and had her hand on the door knob. "Where do you attend school?" his mother asked again.

Sayo turned her head to the woman one more time before leaving. "Momogaoka Girl's High School." And she left his mother there to think about it on her own time.

* * *

Outside, Saya stood in the middle of the empty driveway. Sayo came bounding over to her with a large smile. "Sorry to make you wait Saya."

"Nah, it's alright. You got to see him, and that's what counts." Saya smirked at her cousin.

"Oh be quiet…" Sayo pouted a little.

"So I take it his room is the one with the balcony right?" Saya changed the subject, looking over at said balcony.

Sayo registered Saya's question in her head before answering recklessly. "Yeah…"

"Ah." Saya made that sound of surprise and her eyes widened a little.

"What?" Sayo was curious because Saya was staring at the balcony still. So she joined her cousin to see what it was.

Ryu was standing in front of the sliding glass doors looking down at them. Saya smiled childishly and waved at him. Sayo, on the other hand, smiled sincerely at him before turning her attention to Saya again.

Sayo then put her hand on Saya's shoulders and pushed her down the rest of the driveway so they could leave.

Ryu stood there watching them leave until they couldn't be seen from there anymore. He then returned to his bed to think some more.

* * *

"Man, where did those two look-alikes run off to!" Kiri complained.

"Yeah, they disappeared about an hour ago." Mitsu nodded her head while she contemplated things.

"Right after news about Odagiri-kun reached us…" Maki continued the speculation.

"I'm really worried you guys." Juri put in her two cents.

"Yeah, we all are." Mitsu patted Juri on her shoulder.

"I'm going to call Saya." Kiri declared, holding her cell phone up like it was a prized jewel or something…

"Go for it."

So Kiri dialed Saya's number and put it on speaker. The phone rang twice before Saya answered laughing. 'What's up Kiri?'

"Where the hell are you?" Kiri exclaimed, her face contorting in irritation.

'Walking.' Saya answers, laughing some more.

"Very funny." Kiri dead panned.

'We're alright I promise, Kiri-chan.' Sayo laughed through the phone.

"So, Sayo's with you too?" Mitsu asked.

'Yeah, we're together.' Saya answered, a little chuckle left in her voice.

"What's so funny?" Juri asked innocently.

'Nothing, we just saw a really funny ad on the television.' Saya answered.

"Where are you two?" Maki asked this time.

'We're wandering around.' Saya answered, sounding a little distracted.

"Oh, well, why did you two leave?" Mitsu inquired again.

'I took Sayo to see Odagiri-kun.'

"What!" they all exclaimed through the phone.

'Yeah, though I don't know what they talked about since his mom only let her in.' Saya explained.

'You don't really need to know, do you?' Sayo countered, the girls could barely hear her irritated voice through the phone.

"Hmmm…." all five girls sang suggestively.

'Shut up…' Sayo muttered.

'We're gonna walk around and talk for a while. You should talk to the guys and make sure they aren't planning anything stupid okay?' Saya suggested.

"Okay, we will." Maki answered for the girls before they could object.

'See you later.' and Saya hung up.

"Well, let's go see them. They should be getting out of class by now." Mitsu was trying to act as a leader of some sort.

"Right." the other three nodded their heads once and they all headed out.

* * *

Unfortunately, the girls didn't make it to the guys in time. The four they were looking for were already gone. The rest of the class had no idea where they had gone to either. They were out of luck.

"Saya won't be happy about this." Juri mumbled.

"Yeah, they probably are planning to do something stupid too…" Mitsu added.

"No kidding, they're really dense sometimes." Kiri grumbled.

"They're not dense," Maki corrected. "Just blinded by their feelings."

"That's true…" Juri agreed.

"Well, enough time wasting. Let's go find Saya and Sayo." Mitsu declared and the other girls were right behind them.

Luckily, Mitsu, Maki, and Kiri didn't have to work today…

* * *

It got late quickly and the guys were preparing to put their plan into action. They were going to try and help Ryu escape from his home. So they gathered and orange and swallowed their fear. Hayato put on a pair of sunglasses thinking it would help with espionage, also with throwing off Ryu's father…

They all came shuffling by the driveway gate with their things in tow. Hayato, Hyuga, and Tsuchi stood up straight and could see over the walls surrounding the house. Take had to jump…

After making sure the coast was clear, and Take made three successful jumps… "Take, go." Hayato whispered.

"Alright." and Take jumped to pull himself over the wall.

"Don't make a sound." Hayato continued to whisper as Hyuga and Tsuchi followed Take. "If we don't make a sound we won't be discovered."

So he thought… There were security devices on the walls that detected movement.

But they all made it over the wall and to the balcony without getting stopped. So far so good.

Ryu was sitting on the floor next to his bed by his door. His silver radio was flashing several different colors but he wasn't paying attention to it at all. The only thing that drew him out of his thoughts was the sound of a rock or something hitting the sliding glass door that led to his balcony. So like any curious person, he gets up off the floor and goes out to the balcony to see what was there.

He gets to the railing and hears Hayato. "Oi, Ryu." he looks down at the four idiots. They all do some small wave form of a greeting, trying to be a little playful.

"What are you guys doing here?" this was probably one of the only times Ryu displayed the emotions of curiosity and shock on his face for more than two seconds…

The four moved to this odd formation with Hayato in the front. "Rescue Team is here!" Hayato whispered roughly.

"Huh?"

"Forget about your dad and come out." Hayato tried to entice the one on the second story…

"My dad thinks of you guys as enemies…" Ryu didn't want to get the guys in trouble since they've done so much for him already. "so I can't get you involved in this." he reasoned.

"Don't worry about that." Tsuchi reassured Ryu.

"Let's escape together." Hyuga put on a smile and jabbed his thumb in the direction behind him.

"We're with you." Take told him, looking innocent.

"Let's go." Hayato's voice almost sounded normal instead of a harsh whisper.

Ryu didn't say anything else, but thought hard quickly. He didn't want to be rash about this. The situation was bad enough. If they could all escape, it would be worth it. So he went back into his room and grabbed a black jacket he had on his bed. Just before he left the room, he had a moment of doubt. The thought quickly flew to the back of his mind and he continued, putting the jacket on as he walked.

Once back out on the balcony, he grabbed the rails and jumped over the side. He landed on the path steadily. Good thing he had decent balance. He landed just in front of the others. They all smiled at each other, happy to be reunited.

However, before they could even take one step from where they were, the beam from a flashlight hit Ryu's face. They all turned around to find security guards.

"Who's there?" "What are you doing?" the four asked, shining the beams on the group.

Hayato quickly put his shades back on and Hyuga held the rope over his face.

Hayato, Take and Tsuchi spread out while Hyuga stood in front of Ryu. Three of the guards took one of the three who scattered and the other ignored Hyuga and went straight for Ryu, who wasn't moving…

Hayato had two of the guards on his arms and swung them away from him in order to get to the one who had Ryu. He didn't want to hurt the guy so he just started smacking the guys hard hat until Ryu was free.

"What are you doing?" another security guard asked as he came rushing over to help the guard Hayato was smacking. While this guy ran over to grab Hayato, he left Tsuchi unguarded and free to help Ryu.

Ryu was let go of rather roughly and fell to the ground. "Ryu, run." Tsuchi called. Hayato and Tsuchi were struggling with the two guards who had each one of them respectively.

"Hurry, go." Hayato followed.

"Hurry!" Take and Hyuga both called to him while they both held back another security guard.

Before he ran for it, Ryu looked doubtful about leaving them there to fend for themselves. But he ran and jumped over the wall. He took a few steps from it before he stopped and turned around. This was not what he wanted either.

Leaving them there to be found by his father wasn't an option he wanted to have at all. He felt bad about leaving them there but they told him to go. He figured this would work itself out somehow. At least, he hoped it would. He continued to leave his home, uncertain of where to go from there.

* * *

Saya and Sayo were still wandering the streets even though it was late. They really didn't have much to do and they weren't needed at the school the next day anyhow. So it didn't take long for them to run into Ryu.

It wasn't a normal 'Hey, how you doing?' meeting though. They were on the opposite sides of the street and only Sayo saw him. The two girls were in the middle of a conversation when this happened.

Saya was in the middle of her sentence, looking up at the night sky, when Sayo's eyes strayed from her cousin to the other side of the street. They happened to land on a familiar figure half stumbling half walking down the sidewalk.

"Odagiri-kun…?" she mumbled to herself and stopped walking to get a better look, if it were possible.

It was possible alright. After she was able to focus on just what she was looking at, she could immediately tell it was him. She recognized that hair and pinstripe shirt from earlier. But what was he doing out so late? And how did he manage to escape from home anyway?

Letting her impulse drive her, she ran down to the crosswalk.

Saya looked next to her when she didn't hear a reply and began to freak out. "Sayo?" her head was snapping in every direction until she spotted her cousin. "Sayo! Wait!" she called.

Sayo couldn't hear Saya and kept running. Saya followed, but was stalled by the crowd. By the time Saya made it to the crosswalk, yelling Sayo's name the whole time, she couldn't cross. All she could do was watch Sayo run over to the other side.

"Man… What's she up to?" Saya mumbled to herself as she waited for the cross signal again.

Sayo followed Ryu with a good amount of distance. He occasionally staggered and threw his weight around like he was in deep thought and it irritated him. They got a good ways away from the large crowds and he stepped heavily down a flight of stairs with trash on them into a small alley.

Sayo hid behind the wall and watched him as he kicked the trash bag in front of him ferociously. Her face contorted with concern. She didn't know what she could do for him. So she kept following him to make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

After awhile, Sayo had followed Ryu all the way into a tunnel. She wasn't paying much attention so she didn't know exactly where they were. She kneeled down on the stairs and watched him as he came into contact with a small group of yakuza.

"This can't be good…" she murmured to herself. She watched intently as Ryu and the first two guys in the group bumped shoulders.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" the first guy grumbled.

Ryu was at the back of the group but turned around to face them all. He walked right up to the one who grumbled at him and had his poker face on. "You watch where you're going."

"What'd you say?" the guy got irritated quickly and grabbed Ryu by the collar. "Don't be so arrogant." and he punched him in the face.

Ryu hit the ground and the group turned to leave. "Hey, let's go."

Ryu wanted to ease his anger at himself for leaving the guys to fend for themselves at his house. So he pushed himself up off the ground a little. "Wait." he mumbled.

The group kept moving and Ryu got angrier. He stood up and yelled, "I said wait!"

The group of guys turned around as Ryu walked up to the guy in the back of the group and punched him in the face. This got the other four guys angry. One of them grabbed him by the arms to hold him back and the other two ganged up on him.

Sayo couldn't bring herself to help him because she felt he wouldn't appreciate her butting in on his fight. Instead she continued to watch the fight from the stairs. "What should I do…" she muttered to herself.

Just as Ryu was being held up against the wall, being beaten by three guys, Sayo felt she couldn't handle it anymore. As she made her way down the stairs she heard the first guy Ryu had run into say something to Ryu. "It's because you were being a smart-ass."

Although, she was a little too late to help. She got to the last step and saw Kumiko heading down the tunnel from the opposite end with the other four. Just as the guy pulled back his fist to punch Ryu, Kumiko grabbed his wrist firmly. Sayo relaxed, knowing everything would be fine now that Kumiko was here. She didn't have to worry anymore.

"Can you let him go now?" Kumiko asked in a dangerous tone.

"Who are you?" the idiot asked, just like all the others she's ever faced. He tried to yank his wrist out of Kumiko's grasp but she just pushed harder on it, almost breaking it.

"I'll have you return my precious student." Kumiko threw the guys wrist down and the group let go of Ryu. They backed away slowly, seeing how dangerous Kumiko was.

As soon as the group was away from Ryu, he fell to the ground, he was so beaten. Sayo moved out of the rushing group's way and watched as the guys helped Ryu stand.

"Ryu are you alright?" Yabuki asked.

"Get a hold of yourself." Tsuchi said to Ryu.

They supported Ryu's back so he could sit up and actually see them all. "You guys…"

"What are you doing?" Kumiko asked with a smile.

The guys slowly lifted Ryu and supported him so he could walk with them. From behind her, Sayo heard distant footsteps but ignored them. It wasn't only until she heard the same question directed at her that she turned around to find out who was there.

"Well?" Saya huffed, seemingly irritated and out of breath.

"…Nothing." Sayo answered after a small pause. She still looked concerned about something and Saya could tell.

"Come on, you can tell me." Saya hopped down the stairs and over to her cousin's side.

"Alright…" Sayo sighed and began to tell Saya all about why she had run off so fast without notice. Saya listened and didn't interrupt Sayo once until she was finished.

"Well, why don't we go visit Kumiko-sempai then?" Saya suggested. Sayo looked up at her curiously so she continued. "She'll probably let you know what's going on if you ask her."

Sayo thought about it for a second. "I guess you could be right…"

"So let's go."

Sayo nodded her head and the two were off to the Oedo house.

* * *

At Café de Rovne, we find the guys trying to fix up Ryu somewhat with Yankumi standing in front of the group.

"Are you okay?" Take asked, lowering the bit of cotton ball he had in his hand.

Ryu didn't answer. Instead, he looked up at the rest of the group. "How did it go with you guys?"

They all kind of looked away except for Hayato, not wanting him to know what kind of trouble they were in.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." Yankumi told him, trying to ease the awkward silence. "I'll speak to the Superintendent and your father tomorrow."

"I see." he nodded once and looked back down at the table in front of him. "Sorry." he let out suddenly. "I caused so much trouble."

With that off his chest, he got up and started to walk toward the door to leave. The others watched him as he limped once…

"Hey Ryu, where are you going?" Tsuchi asked after the limp.

"Are you going home?" Hyuga stood up. Meanwhile, Ryu's getting closer to the door.

Yankumi took a step closer to him. Ryu stopped at the beginning of the bar and shook his head as an answer. "Things will work out somehow."

He took two steps and Take jumped out of his seat on the couch. Hayato turned to watch Ryu.

"Hey." Tsuchi called.

"Ryu!" Take sounded a bit concerned for his friend.

The other two stood after Ryu didn't stop.

"Why do you continue to keep everything bottled up?" Yankumi asked, sounding a little irritated with Ryu's attitude towards the situation. Ryu stopped just before the door.

"Why don't you tell us what's on your mind?" she asked again, the volume raising as she got even more emotional.

Ryu turned to look back at her with a solemn face. "I don't know myself." he answered.

She looked to be taken aback by that answer of his and couldn't say anything in return yet. Ryu's eyes drifted from his group of friends and his teacher to the floor. "Sorry…" he took a small pause and returned his gaze to them. "for breaking the promise."

He turned to leave again. "Don't go. Come to my place." Yankumi told him in a strong voice.

Ryu stopped again and turned to look back at his homeroom teacher, astounded by her offer. Hayato looked over at her, shocked as well.

"Wait, his dad is connected to the police." he told her, as if it wasn't obvious already, also shocked by her offer, trying to be as subtle about her secret as possible.

"Who cares?" she retorted. "Come." she pressed on. Ryu knew by the look in her eyes that she was serious and wouldn't stop pressing it on him until he agreed.

So he went to the Oedo household once again. Only this time, he was invited by the Ojou herself.

* * *

"In the end, we ended up not finding those two…" Maki sighed. The girls were hanging around the fountain in the park. They hadn't been able to find Saya or Sayo since earlier.

"Man, just where the hell did they go to?" Kiri complained. She was tired from walking around so much.

"I know, it's like they just disappeared into thin air." Mitsu joined Kiri. She was exhausted too.

"I hope they're all right…" Juri mumbled.

"Let's just go home for now." Maki suggested, tired just like the other girls. "We can find them tomorrow."

"Good idea." Mitsu and Kiri sang in unison.

"Well, see you girls later then." Juri smiled and waved as she left towards home.

"Yep."

And the other three departed as well.

They were sure they'd be able to get the scoop from the two girls the next day anyway so why bother worrying over it now.

* * *

Since it was late when Kumiko came back home with Ryu, Kuroda decided that it was too dangerous for the two girls to go out alone this late and let them share the guest room. Although, he didn't know he'd also be having one of Kumiko's students staying as well… Oh, what a lovely situation they're in now.

Saya and Sayo wished for Ryu not to know that they were there to begin with. So Kuroda turned one of the offices into a temporary bedroom so the girls could sleep over. Of course, their parents had already been contacted.

After Kumiko made sure Ryu was alright in the guest room, she slipped over to the office where the two girls were.

"Why didn't you call and tell me you were going to come over?" Kumiko asked them once in the room with the door shut.

"Well…" Saya hesitated, looking over at Sayo. "It's kind of a long story…"

"I'm all ears." Kumiko was determined to hear this explanation.

"See, this morning…" Saya told Kumiko everything that happened that day, including how they got information about Ryu, visiting him, and that night when Sayo saw him walking around aimlessly in the city.

"Hmm…" Kumiko nodded her head at the end. "So," she started, looking over to the back hallway that had a nice view of the garden. "What happened when you talked to him earlier, Sayo-chan?"

While Saya was story-telling, Sayo had moved to admire the night sky in the white shirt Kumiko had lent her to sleep in. Saya was in one too, but she got knee-length shorts too. Sayo didn't.

"Eh?" Sayo turned her head to look over her shoulder at Kumiko.

"Well?"

"Oh, we just talked about a few things, no big deal…" she turned back to the sky in order to hide her blush. She was remembering him holding her wrist and their exchange of contact information…

"What kind of things?" Kumiko reiterated.

"School, interior decoration, how nice balcony views are…" Sayo tried to stay away from the part that made her blush.

"Hmm…" Kumiko hummed suggestively.

"Not this again." Sayo muttered with her eyes closed and a grimace plastered on her slightly flushed face.

"Oh come now, I'm only joking and you know it." Kumiko smiled.

"Yeah Sayo, don't take it too seriously." Saya nodded.

"Whatever." Sayo's voice returned to normal and she looked up at the sky again. The moon was out shining brightly. "The moon is so beautiful…" she mumbled to herself.

"Well, you two should get some rest." Kumiko said as she stood up to leave.

Sayo turned around, gazing at Kumiko curiously. Saya just looked up at said woman.

"I'll see you two in the morning, okay?" Kumiko smiled again at the door.

"Mm." they both nodded their heads in unison.

Kumiko left the office and went to her bedroom to turn in for the night. After she was gone, Saya and Sayo nestled into their futons and tried to sleep as best they could.

* * *

The next morning, the other four showed up at the Oedo household. Hayato led the other three to the door.

"Hey, what's Oedo Family?" Tsuchi asked from the back of the line.

"Aren't we going to Yankumi's place?" Take asked, looking up at the roof of the traditional house he stood in front of, not knowing what lurked inside.

"Isn't this place dangerous?" Hyuga asked, assuming Hayato didn't know where he was…

Hayato stepped in front of the group and face them. "This is Yamaguchi's house."

"Eh?" all three of them looked at Hayato with surprise evident on their faces.

Next thing they know, they're sitting in the living room with Yankumi and Ryu. None of the kumi members were there, not even Saya and Sayo even though they planned to reveal their presence anyway.

"I ended up getting all of you involved." Ryu stated once again, not liking the fact that they were getting in trouble because of him.

"Don't let that worry you." Take told him sternly.

"It's all because we did a stupid thing." Hayato looked away from Ryu while he spoke.

"There's no need for you to feel responsible." Tsuchi leaned forward as he instructed Ryu.

Ryu only nodded, understanding what his friends were saying.

"But Yankumi's house is amazing." Hyuga let out, getting off his feet and sitting his actual butt on the floor. Take hurriedly motioned to the idiot to get back on his feet. Hyuga did so since he didn't want to be punished or anything…

"That's because…" Yankumi tried but was cut off by more admiration.

"I really got scared." Tsuchi let out.

"Let's drop that subject." Yankumi tried her hardest to keep a smile on her face. She wanted to avoid the subject of her home and family if at all possible.

Hyuga, Tsuchi and Take started to observe the room and it's adornments. Ryu's eyes met the floor and Hayato had his eyes set forward. Yankumi Smiled uncertainly. Kuroda peeked in through a doorway from behind Kumiko. He smiled at the sight. Just like old times.

Minoru suddenly appeared from behind the boys. "Ojou, a person by the name of Odagiri is here." he half bowed the yakuza do. All the guys plus Yankumi had their eyes on Minoru as he informed Kumiko of her guest.

Everyone's eyes hit Ryu as he kept staring straight forward without an emotion crossing his face at all.

Before Kumiko told Minoru to show them in, she had the five boys hide somewhere. They chose to hide behind the sliding door so they could hear the conversation as well.

So while Kumiko is conversing with Ryu's father, Kuroda is in the back of the house with Saya and Sayo going through some of Kumiko's old kimonos from when she was their age. This would be part of their grand entrance.

During the heated conversation between his teacher and his father, Ryu began to think that it was better if he just obeyed his father like usual. It was such a reckless thought, but if it could get his friends out of trouble, he'd do it.

"I hope you're ready to take responsibility for it as their homeroom teacher." Ryu's father threatened.

After a pause and shift of her feet, Kumiko answered. "I am."

Ryu didn't like her answer. No way in hell was she being fired because of him. She'd done way too much for him to get fired because of him. He wouldn't allow it. On impulse, he scrambled to his feet and stood behind his parents, determined to follow through with his thoughts.

"Ryu!" the guys called to him, trying to stop him before it was too late. But it already was. They all stood behind him too.

Kumiko was shocked by this turn of events. She hadn't planned on them interfering in the conversation like this.

"You were here, as I thought." his father said as he turned around to face his son.

"Please forgive them." Ryu requested, tossing his head a little to the side in reference to the guys.

"What?"

"They did it for my sake." Ryu told his father.

"Stop being foolish." he took a few seconds to come up with a retort. "What they did was a crime."

Ryu didn't see any other option to take. He bowed to his father and pleaded. "Please, don't let them be expelled."

"Why do you care so much about this bunch?" his father asked with a hint of disgust.

Ryu didn't answer. He only stood up straight and listed the things he would do. After he finished the list, which only had three items on it, albeit they were huge, he bowed again with the same plead.

Yankumi and the other four couldn't believe the words that had just left Ryu's mouth. So not right.

"I will properly think about your future." his father responded. "If you listen to what I say, you won't fail."

"So stop hanging with these guys."

Kumiko finally had enough of the man's high and mighty attitude. Especially when it came to Ryu's life. "Please wait."

Kumiko went on to tell Ryu's father about why she became a teacher with that background of hers because he had asked so before. Then she told Ryu to speak what he was really felling. To speak from his heart. Say what he really wanted.

Moved by her words, Ryu got down on the ground and begged his father. He told him what he really wanted to do, how he really felt, and why he wanted to still attend that school. Ryu ended up shedding a few tears.

Saya and Sayo peeped their heads around the corner behind Kumiko's back to see what was going on for Kuroda. They were even moved with the little bit they saw. Kuroda then made his way into the room.

"I see my granddaughter has caused some trouble." he observed as he entered. Saya and Sayo were a little distance behind him, observing as shadows for the moment.

Kuroda sat down where Kumiko was before. "From what I've heard so far, I can't say that what Kumiko is saying is wrong." he said, looking up at her.

Saya and Sayo stood behind him, faces blank with no emotion, They were holding it in so they didn't cry or anything in front of the guys. Just so they wouldn't reveal themselves. The time wasn't right just yet.

"Your son has some great friends." he told Ryu's father, looking back past the man to the boys. Saya and Sayo sat down slowly with their eyes closed behind Kuroda.

The guys finally noticed the two girls and looked at them with extremely curious and questioning faces. Ryu was the only one who hadn't noticed them yet.

"I agree that they didn't use the best way of doing things, but don't you think that jumping to the help of their friend without thinking about the consequences is something not anyone can easily do?" the man was certainly long winded…

Hayato slowly joined Ryu first. "I also request of you…" he paused for a moment, gathering his bearings. "to let Ryu graduate with us." and he bowed down fully. "Please."

Ryu could barely believe he was hearing that come out of Hayato's mouth. He looked back at Hayato and his head was almost touching the floor…

Hyuga, Take and Tsuchi looked at each other and hurriedly got down there as well. "Please!"

Ryu looked from his friends back to his father. "Please." and he bowed again.

Both the girls' faces showed signs of emotion restraint. Especially laughter at the sight of the frantic three in the back. But it quickly disappeared as the boys began to raise their heads.

"Odagiri-san." Kumiko started. "Isn't it okay to feel proud as a father that your son has such great friends?" she asked the man.

The man only sat down, looking exhausted. "Raising a child…" he started, directing his words toward Kuroda. "Is a very difficult job, isn't it?" he looked over at the man mid question.

Kuroda looked like he knew the feeling all too well. Which, in fact, he did having raised Kumiko after all. "Yes." he sighed, nodding his head as well.

With the answer, Ryu's father turned to face Kumiko fully. "Can I ask you to take care of my son until graduation?" he asked formally.

The guys had lifted their heads and were freaking out with excitement now. Ryu looked shocked but happy as well by his father's words.

"Yes." Kumiko answered.

"I apologize for causing so much trouble so early in the morning." Odagiri apologized to the family.

Saya and Sayo finally cracked their faces and smiled sincerely at the outcome of this whole event of complicated family matters that needed to be dealt with.

"Not at all." the Oedo's, minus Kumiko, bowed courteously in return.

Saya and Sayo bowed too. "Thank you for letting Odagiri-kun graduate with his friends." they said in unison.

Everyone else in the room blinked in confusion. Well, except for Kuroda. He knew the girls were there after all.

The two sat up with smiles on their faces. They stood up and let their hair down.

"Ah!" the guys all gasped in unison.

The two girls smirked with satisfaction. That was the look they were going for.

"Where did you get those kimonos?" Kumiko inquired curiously.

"I let them wear some of your older ones." Kuroda informed Kumiko. "I hope you don't mind."

Kumiko looked at her grandfather. "Not at all."

"Well, that's good." Saya chuckled.

"Yeah." Sayo smirked.

"Why are you two here?" Tsuchi, Hyuga, and Take were asking this time.

"Where have I heard that question before…" Kumiko mumbled to herself while the two girls laughed.

"Because." they started. "We've known Kumiko-sempai way longer than you have." they smirked.

Both Ryu's parents got up and left silently while the guys continued to gape at the two girls clad in old kimonos.

"I will say though, those kimonos suit you two well." Hayato commented.

"Uh…" Saya had her mouth open in surprise.

"Now I know how you felt when you went on that blind date, Kumiko-sempai." Sayo complained.

"See, I told you so." Kumiko shrugged.

Looking back at Ryu, Kumiko nodded her head, telling him it was all right now. He gathered himself and stood to leave. Everything got silent again in anticipation of Ryu's words.

"Thank you very much." he bowed to Kumiko and Kuroda, sniffing the whole way. "See you later." Ryu said to the guys.

"Yeah." they all nodded.

The three left the house and stood in front for a moment or two.

Back inside, Saya was nudging Sayo. Sayo looked over at her cousin curiously. "What?"

"Go on, you know you want to." Saya smirked.

"Yeah, go talk to him for a minute. I'm sure he won't mind." Kumiko smiled.

"Come on Sayo-chan. You look really pretty in that kimono anyway." Hyuga commented.

"I'm sure Ryu would want to say something about it, since he didn't get to." Hayato told her.

Sayo started blushing with all the comments she was getting. She hung her head and slowly walked toward the front door.

"You're going too slow!" Saya complained and took it upon herself to get Sayo there faster. She grabbed her cousin's wrist and pulled her quickly to the door.

Sayo slipped on a pair of Kumiko's geta that were by the front and opened the door. Ryu was standing there looking back a the house.

"Um…" Sayo started, unsure of what he would actually say to her, what his mother and father would say to her, nor if she were still blushing from what the others had said.

Ryu's face showed no emotion, so that made it even harder for her to say anything. "I'm glad you can graduate with the guys like you want." she said, eyes on the ground and the geta that sat under her feet.

Ryu's father made a comment to his mother before heading to the car to leave the two teens alone for a moment.

"Thanks." Ryu responded.

Sayo's eyes shifted from side to side. She lifted her head to reveal a sincere smile gracing her features. With the kimono, it made her picture perfect.

"By the way…" he started, turning to head towards his father's car. "You look good in that kimono." and he took off before she could respond.

Sayo only had the ability to watch him leave. Everything else had left her mind. His words resonated in her ears. Slowly a smile appeared on her face.

She returned inside after he was gone, and the guys were heading out with Kumiko to get to school.

They said their good byes and left. Saya and Sayo went back to the office they had stayed in and changed from kimono to spare outfit.

They quickly got a call from the girls saying that they wanted the scoop on what happened with Ryu. So the girls decided to meet up near Tetsu and Minoru's takoyaki stand by the temple to talk. They were also planning on discussing what they were going to do together before graduation.

The words that Sayo couldn't get out of her head were also the words Ryu couldn't believe he had said.

They don't know what's going to happen in the near future, but one thing is for sure. _Something_ will definitely happen, be it good or bad.

_To be continued…_


	12. Extra Sayo's Interview

_So, for those of you who wanted to read it, this is the article Sayo was featured in during chapter 5. I figured I'd put it up for anyone who was interested. I'm not going to place it in it's propr place; I'd just be spamming your inbox. _

_Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

A Modern high School Girl's View on Relationships

Written By _Tanaka Miku_

Photos By _Noda Takeshi_

Models: _Tsukioka Sayo, Tanaka Miku_

Hello everyone, today I've taken up some time of a modern high school girl. Why do you ask? Because, I like to entertain my readers with all sorts of information. This modern high school girl's name is Tsukioka Sayo. She's a very sweet girl and has agreed to share her views with me on a very tough topic for just about everyone: Relationships. I'll be sharing the interview with you this time around.

**Q: **First, we'll start off with something easy so you aren't caught off-guard. How would you describe sibling harmony?

**A: **Well, I don't have any siblings, but I do have a cousin who is like a sister to me. Her and I get along pretty well, so it's easy harmony (laugh). But I know that not all siblings get along easily. If I did have a brother or sister, I know there would be teasing involved. The only thing I think siblings need for harmony is understanding of each other.

**Q: **What about parental bonds?

**A: **I think they're very essential. The parents should try to understand the child as much as possible. If the parent tries to force the child to follow in his/her footsteps the child will eventually rebel. Unless, of course, the child has a genuine interest in whatever it is the family business may be. But I don't have to worry about that kind of thing. My parents are letting me live my life.

**Q: **Wow, not many high school students would say something of that caliber. So what about people outside the family?

**A: **Well, it mostly depends on where you meet these people. I guess you could say that question is too broad a subject. Narrow it down.

**Q: **Nice, it's almost as if you've already read the questions. Good friends are first, like people you meet at school.

**A: **Not all people you meet at school or work are good. Some of them are bad. But the good ones are the ones that are hard to find and keep. Once you find the good ones you should try to stay friends with them. I have five very precious friends. And I try to stay on good terms with them at all times.

**Q: **True. So what about those bad friends?

**A: **Actually, I don't honestly think there is such a thing as bad friends. It's mainly the way you and your friends act. What kind of friends you have is based on what you and other people think. Of course, there are those so called "friends" who make promises but don't keep them. I guess you could classify them as bad friends.

**Q: **So how do you determine your best friends?

**A: **Your best friends are people who know you very well. For example, they know when you're sad or when you don't want to talk about something just by looking at you. They know how you act and your habits seemingly inside and out. The ones who are always on your side no matter what.

**Q: **You sound like you know what you're talking about. What does the word "acquaintance" mean to you?

**A: **Acquaintances are people you don't know very well. Say, someone you only know the name of and where they go to school or work. Basically people you've just met.

**Q: **Hmm, I see. Do you have any rivals?

**A: **Not that I know of (laugh). But I know that rivalry can be quite scary. Whether it's fighting or something else competitive. I actually know a bunch of guys who have a lot of rivals and used to get into fights all the time. Although, the results were regrettable. But I guess that's the nature of those kinds of rivalries.

**Q: **Seems like you care for those guys. We're probably heading into an unfamiliar area for you, but how would you describe a good work relationship?

**A: **True, I've never had a real job. I've had other photo shoot jobs before. I guess it mostly depends on the people you work with and where. If you work with high spirited people the workplace might be lively. If they're low spirited then it might be dead and dull. At least, that's what I think.

**Q: **A good way of thinking indeed. Since you're related to a teacher, how do you view teacher-student relationships?

**A: **Within the school, a love relationship should not happen. If it occurs during high school, wait for graduation. Anyway, going to regular teacher-student relationships, students should trust their teachers. And teachers should care about the students. Its the only way for the students to have a good school experience.

**Q: **Speaking of love relationships, tell me what you think about a break up?

**A: **Hmm, well there are two different types of break ups. I've only experienced one. It was a nice break up. We both understood each other and are still truly friends. I know, that outcome is extremely rare. However, if I ever have to go through the depressing kind of break up, the photos show exactly how I'd feel and act. Depressed, out of it, detached from reality, and absent minded. That's exactly how I'd be if I had to break up with someone I truly loved. In other words, I think that the positive outcome is something we should all strive for at the end. We should never try to hurt each other indefinitely. It's just not good for either party.

**Q: **Sounds like you know what you're talking about again. So how would you describe a love relationship to end this interview?

**A: **Ah well… I'm quite stubborn when it comes to my own emotions. I would probably not show that I like the boy seemingly at all. But if I ever do get into a relationship with a boy I really like, I honestly couldn't describe it. Think about it, no one truly knows who they'll fall in love with nor what it would be like to be in a relationship with that person. I guess, what I'm trying to say is that love is a mysterious adventure that everyone wants to go on whether they realize it or not.

Well there you have it. I will say, she has some detailed views on relationships.


	13. Side Story 3

**Tell Me, We Met For A Reason, Right? A Gokusen Story, the Side-stories.**

_**This little side story occurs between episodes 9 and 10 of the drama.**_

_**Story 3: Truth? Or Dare?**_

Before they graduated, the girls wanted to have a night together. So, since Mitsu's parents were out of town until their graduation day, they decided to stay there. Besides, Mitsu has a big house with quite a few rooms.

The girls chose to sleep in separate rooms since there were enough. They put their bags in the rooms and gathered in the kitchen after school the Friday before graduation.

"Man, I can't believe it's almost over." Kiri breathed.

"I know." Maki agreed, nodding her head lightly.

"Hey, do you think we'll be able to hang out together like this after we get into college?" Kiri asked with hope.

"I don't think we'll be able to do it often." Saya answered thoughtfully.

"Probably an hour or two at the most." Sayo finished laying out reality.

Kiri looked down at the floor sadly.

"Don't worry about it for now Kiri." Juri smiled sweetly as Kiri looked up at her.

"Besides, we'll have other things to preoccupy us." Mitsu chimed in with a glass of sweet ice tea in her hand.

"Yeah, like projects, studying for tests, boyfriends, things like that." Maki finished for Mitsu.

"Enough with the talk of the distant future." Saya declared suddenly.

"Let's go play a game." Sayo suggested.

"But what game should we play?" Mitsu inquired curiously.

"Hmm…" they all had thoughtful looks playing their faces.

"Ah!" Kiri's head shot up and the others looked at her expectantly. A devious smile spread across her face. "Truth Or Dare."

"Yeah, why not." Mitsu agreed, Maki and Juri both nodding their heads. Sayo was blank and Saya a little afraid of what could happen.

The girls grabbed snacks and drinks (pocky and ramune) before sitting themselves down in the living room. Juri, Maki, and Mitsu shared the couch. Kiri grabbed the recliner, which left Saya and Sayo the love seat. There was a low coffee table in the middle of all of them and in reaching distance.

"Now," Mitsu began firmly, "to make this fair, no one is to dare anyone to confess to someone that they have a crush on that person." The girls nodded and she continued. "Nor will we repeat anything said or done tonight. Got it?" she finished, mainly eyeing Kiri.

"Fine." Kiri sighed with a stick of strawberry pocky in her mouth, already half way gone.

"Good. Since you thought of the game, Kiri, you should start." Mitsu instructed, grabbing for a stick of hazelnut pocky on the coffee table.

"Alright." Kiri scanned the girls, then eyed Saya. "Maki-chan, Truth or Dare?" her eyes darted to the victim, who was about to put her stick of chocolate pocky in her mouth.

"Hm…" Maki shut her mouth and brought the pocky to her side. "Truth."

"Do you think Takeda-kun is a good guy?"

Maki looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, he's a pretty good guy, I guess." she answered then stuck the pocky in her mouth.

"Hmm…" Kiri eyed her knowingly, but Maki was just confused by it and shrugged it off.

"My turn." Maki hummed as she finished her pocky. She scanned the girls like Kiri did and landed on her victim. "Juri-chan~" she sang.

Juri only looked up at her a little scared yet curious. "Truth or Dare?"

"Uh, truth I guess…" Juri mumbled, her previous look still in place.

"Okay, you do like Misawa-kun a lot don't you?"

"…" Juri looked a tad surprised by the question and suddenly was embarrassed. She hung her head low to hide her blush. "Yes…" she mumbled again.

The others only smiled at her with kind and warm hearted faces.

"Um, Mi-chan…" Juri mumbled a few moments later and slowly lifted her head, hoping her blush was no longer visible. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Mitsu smiled triumphantly. After all, she was the first to say 'Dare'.

Juri wasn't expecting this but quickly realized she should have. She tried to think of a good one, but could only think of something childish to do. "I know this is childish, but we're almost graduated, so we should do something for old times' sake right?" the girls looked at her curiously. "So, I dare you to prank call Tsuchiya-kun."

"Wow, what a brave person you are Juri-chan." Kiri smiled widely.

"Oh man… I was wanting to do something more adventurous…" Mitsu mumbled in slight disappointment. "Oh well, whatever. A prank call is better than nothing." a small chuckle left her mouth.

Mitsu then proceeded to pick up her house phone, and dialed Tsuchiya's number. She had never called him, or any of the guys for that matter, from the house phone before. So this was going to be interesting. "Let's see if he even picks up his phone…" Mitsu muttered, semi-cynically.

The girls sat and watched, waiting for something to happen and for Mitsu to start laughing.

The phone rang three times and the phone was abruptly picked up. A ragged breathing was heard on the other end. "Hello?" it asked breathlessly. Mitsu held her breath for a moment and the voice repeated the question. The third time the voice asked the question, it almost sounded angry. Mitsu heard Hayato in the background.

"What's wrong Tsuchi?"

"I think some idiots trying to prank call me." he answered in a slightly angry tone.

And she heard Hayato start laughing at him. She imagined his face was irritated extremely. She didn't want to blow her cover, but she couldn't refrain from laughing anymore. She busted. The girls busted moments later as well.

Tsuchi heard the laughing from everywhere, even the ones in the background through the phone. "What's so firkin' funny!" he yelled.

In unison, Hayato and Mitsu answered, "Because you're so pissed about a stupid prank call." more laughing ensued.

A moment later, Mitsu realized what she had said. She heard Tsuchi try to reply to her but she immediately hung up. They were all still laughing.

"He got so pissed because I didn't say anything." she explained while laughing.

"Wow. That's kind of unexpected from him." Kiri laughed more.

After they all stopped laughing, Mitsu set her sights on Saya. "Saya, Truth or Dare?"

"Hm…" Saya mocked a person thinking about this. "Dare." she said confidently with a smug smirk on her face.

"You asked for it." mumbled Sayo.

"I dare you…" Mitsu looked around, trying to think of something really good for Saya to do. She knew the girl loved to be spontaneous, so she needed something big. "I dare you to call Yabuki-kun and tell him the color of your panties and then hang up immediately."

The girls looked shocked by what Mitsu had said. Sayo side glanced at her cousin, and knew she hadn't been expecting something like that.

Saya gathered up her confidence and secretly checked her panties before dialing his number. After a couple rings, he answered his phone with a curious "Hello?"

Saya inhaled deeply, so deeply he heard her through the phone. "Hey sexy, just so you know, I'm wearing silky, lavender bikini undies tonight." and she slammed the phone down on the receiver. Unconsciously, her voice had a sexy, seductive tone to it, which left Hayato stunned when she started and long enough to keep him quiet through the whole thing.

Saya giggled at herself. The others giggled too, silently inquiring as to what he had said. She turned around with a smile on her face and was a little flushed from being embarrassed like that. "He was totally shocked."

"I figured as much." Sayo chuckled a little.

Saya sat back down next to Sayo and eyed Kiri. "Kiri-chan~ Truth or Dare?"

"You know me, dare all the way baby." Kiri smiled confidently, seeming to be ready for anything they were going to throw at her.

"Okay then." Saya smiled deviously as she thought hard on what to dare Kiri to do. "I dare you to…" she started, eyeing the television and then the phone. "Sing Akanishi Jin's "Pinky" chorus to Hyuga-kun and then hang up afterwards."

Kiri smiled with delight. She was certainly up for this challenge. She hopped out of the recliner and grabbed the phone, dialing Hyuga's number quickly.

After one ring he answers in his cat-like voice, he was probably playing around with Takeda, Tsuchiya, Yabuki, and Odagiri right now. "Hello?"

"_Hey you are my pinky never cheat on me_

_Akai ito de shibatte_

_Do that shake your body Come and call about it_

_Mimi moto de sasayaite_."

And she hang up immediately, not waiting for a reaction. Which, she would have loved to see, she admitted.

She turned around with her thumbs up, signaling she had succeeded in her task.

"Okay Sayo, it's your turn." Kiri told her plainly.

"Fine." Sayo shrugged. She didn't really care. She reached forward and grabbed a stick of vanilla pocky and shoved it in her mouth.

"So, Truth or Dare?" Kiri asked expectantly. The girls all wanted to know too. Would she do a dare? Or would she be willing to tell the truth if they asked, which they knew Kiri would for sure, about her liking Odagiri-kun? They really wanted to know.

Of course, Sayo knew, no matter which one she picked, it would have to do with Odagiri Ryu. She sighed and closed her eyes, totally regretting she had agreed to play this game in the first place. She didn't want to have to prank call him at any cost, so she figured she would stick with the truths for now. She'd be forced to do a dare sooner or later anyway. The others would get bored. "Truth."

"Do you think Odagiri-kun likes you as a friend?" Kiri asked seriously.

"I'm not sure, but I would like to think so. If he doesn't, then so be it." Sayo answered solemnly. The others looked kind of shocked by the answer given. They had all thought she would say she thought he liked her as a friend at least. "Juri-chan," Sayo opened her eyes and shifted them to the girl. "Truth or Dare?"

"I guess, dare this time." Juri mumbled, but the girls could still hear her. After all, they weren't listening to any music at the moment.

"I dare you to tell us how you really feel about Yabuki-kun." Sayo said the last name anyone would think to associate with Juri. They all were shocked.

"Well, he's a good leader and cares a lot about his friends. I'm not in love with him or anything like that. I just think he's a nice guy when he wants to be. But he just is the way he is, and that's that." Juri explained in her calm, kind way. The girls all expected her to say she didn't like him much at all.

Sayo reached to the coffee table for her peach ramune in front of her and took a sip.

"Uh… Maki-chan." Juri started, shifting her sights to Maki, who was putting another pocky stick into her mouth. "Truth or Dare?"

"Hmm.. Dare this time." Maki answered while chewing her pocky.

"I dare you to write a love letter to Takeda-kun, but not give it to him." Juri smiled with a hint of deviousness. "Unless you want to give it to him, that is." she added lightly.

Sure, they had expected something like this to come out of Kiri or Saya's mouth. But never in a million years would they have thought Juri would say something like that. Especially as a dare.

"That's a brilliant dare!" Kiri squealed with excitement, then had a curious face. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Hey, I didn't either. We're both equal now." Saya mentioned and Kiri nodded at the truth of her statement.

They both sighed simultaneously and mumbled, "I've been out smarted…"

Sayo chuckled at Saya a little. Maki suddenly got up, searching for a pencil and piece of paper. Mitsu got up quickly to help her.

They both came back and sat down on the couch again, and Maki began writing the letter she would probably never give Takeda-kun in a million years. It read:

_Dear Takeda-kun,_

_I have liked you ever since you fought for me on Valentine's Day. I hope to receive a White Day present from you. But I will not keep my hopes up too much. You are a very sweet, kind and cute guy, please remember that I feel this way for you, and that someone else might later in your life as well._

_Just thought you'd like to know how I feel._

_Maki-chan._

She signed the letter and gave it to Juri to examine. "Wow…" Juri whispered in surprise. She finished reading it and looked back at Maki-chan. "Is this true, or are you just writing something to replicate a love letter?" she inquired.

Maki only shrugged her shoulders. She honestly didn't know herself. It just came to her naturally, and she wrote it down. She wasn't sure if she really felt that way or not. But that's just how the letter made you feel about the whole thing.

Maki cleared her throat a little and looked over at Saya. "Saya, Truth or Dare?"

"Hm…" she thought about it again, this time a little more seriously. "Truth."

"Do you like Yabuki-kun?"

"What kind of like?" Saya asked seriously, she felt two different things about him so she had to be sure of how to answer the question.

"Do you have a crush on him?" Maki reiterated.

Saya looked down at her lap shyly. "Yeah…" she nodded her head.

"Whoa!" Mitsu gasped.

"I didn't think you'd actually admit to it!" Kiri could barely believe her ears.

Sayo and Juri eyed Saya with a small smile. Maki kind of knew herself as well.

"Arg!" Saya shot her head up with an irritated expression. "Mitsu! Truth or Dare?"

"Truth this time."

"Who do you like more, Tsuchiya-kun or Hyuga-kun?"

"Hmmm…." Mitsu looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I guess, I like Hyuga-kun more. Don't know why though. Tsuchiya-kun is so my type."

A few of them giggled a little at that.

"Okay, this round should be the last, it's getting late." Mitsu announced after she saw the clock, and the pocky was already half gone. The girls nodded, and Juri yawned. "Sayo, Truth or Dare?"

Sayo had her eyes closed and answered without a thought. "Truth."

"You sure?" Mitsu gave her a chance to change her mind. Let's face it, Sayo should know what she's going to ask her. It's not that hard to figure out. The girls were all curious about the enigma that was Sayo and her feelings towards Odagiri Ryu.

Sayo slowly opened her eyes to look at Mitsu. She had a serious look in her eyes. Sayo sighed. "Fine, Dare then."

"You wouldn't answer that question anyway, would you?" Mitsu inquired but got no answer. She sighed and smiled a little. "I dare you to call Odagiri-kun, tell him that he's sexy and you would totally take him if you could."

Sayo's eyes widened at that. She did NOT want to do that, no matter what. She had this sinking feeling that he would be able to recognize her voice. Even if she didn't say or give any hint of her name over the phone. She wished now that she hadn't changed her mind. She'd rather tell the girls that she was totally falling for him everyday and know that they said they wouldn't say anything about it to anyone.

Sayo gulped as she stood in front the phone receiver, handset in her hand already. She was about to dial, and had been panicking a little in her mind. Breathing slowly to calm herself, she dialed his number slowly, and when she heard it ringing, she put it to her ear. Only right after the first ring ended, he answered.

"Hai?" he didn't sound like anything. Just a little bored. She could hear Hayato, Takeda, Hyuga, and Tsuchiya in the background asking him about the phone call already.

She inhaled sharply, which he heard, and began. "You're super sexy and if I could I would totally take you as mine." And she hung up, slamming her finger on the red button. She couldn't believe she had just done that to him.

Sayo set the handset on the receiver and sat back down. "Kiri, you get my revenge upon you. Truth or Dare?"

Kiri gulped a little. "Um… I'll play it safer and go with Truth."

"Which of the Kurogin boys do you have a crush on?"

Kiri got a little pale with the question but quickly regained herself. She looked down at the floor, where her bare feet were placed contently. "Tsuchiya-kun…" she muttered.

"I knew it." Maki smiled happily. Juri smiled sweetly and Mitsu only had a small smile on her face. Saya looked at Kiri with a huge smile on her face.

Sayo got up suddenly, and closed her eyes. "I'm going to bed, I'm tired. Night." and she headed to the room she had chosen.

Saya got up quickly and jogged after Sayo. "Hey!" she called after her.

Sayo stopped when they were away from the others a little bit.

"What's wrong? Are you worried he'll realize it was you or something?"

She had hit the nail dead on the head. Sayo could only look away with a strange, uncertain expression.

That was enough to answer the question. "You are."

"Aren't you worried Yabuki-kun will find out too?" Sayo questioned heatedly, looking irritated back at her cousin .

"Well, yeah, but still…" Saya trailed off, looking down at her feet.

"Then you don't have to ask." Sayo said coldly and turned away, continuing to her room.

Saya looked up at her back and sighed. "I guess she's right…" she muttered to herself. Then she headed to her room as well.

The others had hid and heard the whole thing. They felt kind of bad afterwards. After all, there was a possibility that the guys would recognize their voices over the phone.

After they cleaned up, the others went to bed as well, only saying good night when they separated.

* * *

The guys had been sitting in the Café de Rovne until late, trying to figure out what those calls most of them had gotten earlier were supposed to mean.

Tsuchi said that someone was on the other end and had somehow said the same thing as Hayato when he had asked what was so funny.

Hyuga said some girl sang a love song to him and hung up afterwards without saying anything else.

Hayato was too baffled to say anything right after the call happened, but he later explained that some girl had told him what kind and color panties she was wearing that night.

But they all deemed Ryu's call the most odd of them all. He said some girl had told him the he was sexy and she would totally take him if she could. Tsuchi, Hyuga, and Take all looked curiously at each other. Hayato knew what that meant in a heart beat.

"The girl wants you." he said calmly.

"That's kind of obvious there, Sherlock." Ryu muttered at him with an irritated tone. He was so good at pointing out the obvious.

"I'm just saying." Hayato shrugged.

"Man, I wish some girl would call me to tell me that. I'd be in heaven." Hyuga chirped dreamily.

"Dream on." Take shot him out of cloud nine quickly.

"You already got your call, remember? The girl who sang to you." Tsuchi reminded him.

"Oh yeah!" Hyuga smiled and went back off to dreamland, muttering a curious "I wonder who she is…"

"Yeah, we all wonder who it was." Tsuchi added dryly.

"We'll figure it out." Hayato reassured Tsuchi.

"Good!" he furrowed his eyebrows. "Cause that just wasn't funny."

"Yeah it was." Hayato smirked.

"No, it was not!" Tsuchi argued, getting angrier by the second.

Hayato said nothing more but kept on smirking.

"She sounded a little familiar though." Ryu mumbled, mainly to himself, figuring the others were too preoccupied with themselves and each other.

"She did?" Take was curious. He was the only one who didn't get a phone call from a mysterious number.

"Hah." Hayato scoffed. "You know, come to think of it, the girl who called me sounded familiar too."

"I couldn't really hear her that well because of all the laughing." Tsuchi commented, looking at Hayato deadly at the end.

"I liked her singing voice, that's something I won't ever forget." Hyuga said dreamily, still in his own world.

Tsuchi, Hayato, and Take just rolled their eyes at him. Ryu stared at him blankly.

The one, big question on Ryu's mind? Who was this mystery girl who called him and why did she sound so familiar to him?


	14. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Twisted Graduation Gift…**

That Monday was hectic as the whole school prepared vigorously for the upcoming graduation ceremony. All the first and second years were bustling around the school with things to do. All the third year students were called together to rehearse for the ceremony.

And that is exactly what the girls and the guys were doing. Rehearsing what they had to do for their graduation ceremony. Saya and Sayo were conducting their class in terms of singing the school's anthem. Ayumi was busy teaching the underclassmen how to sing the same anthem.

After they were done rehearsing the anthem, they practiced how to walk into the ceremony properly. They did that about three times before they got it perfect. Then the class representative was to accept the diplomas. That wasn't too hard though.

The first strenuous day was over in a flash. The girls didn't even get to see the guys, which was a little disappointing for them.

Although, while the girls were doing their rehearsals, the guys were having just as many problems with theirs.

When Kumiko walked into the classroom, the guys were mostly on the right side of the room sitting on the desks. They had cleared the floor for some reason… Hayato was standing in the back with Take and Tsuchi. Ryu was in the front with two others. That Hayato had just casually draped his jacket over his shoulders and his hands were shoved into his pockets.

"Today, we'll be practicing for the graduation ceremony." she announced.

"Eh?" they all drawled.

"Don't 'eh'!" Kumiko retaliated childishly.

"We don't need to practice that." Tsuchi told her.

"What are you saying?" she tilted her head a little. "It's a big moment celebrating your departure." she told them. "Don't you want to practice hard and look great?" she asked, setting down her role book and striking a quick pose.

Next thing, all the guys are outside the room and Kumiko is holding her role book in front of her. "Class 3-D, please enter." she says as if she's reading it off the book…

As she looks over to the door, Omori opens it carelessly, scratches his neck and yawns while making his way in. They all slump past her, giving her the perfect opportunity to make a remark.

"Don't walk so sluggishly!" she demands.

One of them looks at her as if he's retarded when he passes her and she makes another comment.

"Hey, don't look at the guests like that!"

The two guys keep walking and Hayato and Tsuchi make it in front of her. Hayato, being the smart ass he is, started walking like he was in the military, swinging his arms stupidly like a robot or something. Tsuchi and the rest followed suit and copied their idiotic leader. Well, except for Ryu anyway…

"This isn't an athletic meet!" she complains again, starting to act a bit childish… "You don't have to wave your hands so much!"

Hyuga turns to her first, the rest of them following suit. "You keep telling us so many things, we don't get it all!" he complained back at her, making some odd gestures with his arms.

"Is walking normally that difficult for you?" she asked, as if it were that hard to believe…

Now they're all lined up into four rows, from the blackboard forward. Kumiko stood a few feet from them, facing them like a conductor of an orchestra or something.

"Now we will sing the school anthem." she told them. "One, two, three, go." she waved her hands like a choral instructor, expecting them to know the song… But no one sang. She lost her footing a little. "What's wrong?"

Hayato turned his head to Ryu. "Do you know the anthem?"

"I don't." Ryu shook his head lightly.

Take looked over at Hayato. "We have an anthem?"

"We do!" Kumiko told them. She thought for a moment. "I don't know it, either…" she realized.

Finally, their practice was coming to an end. They were all sitting in rows with Kumiko standing at her podium with mock diplomas in her hands.

"Time to hand out the diplomas." she announced. "Class 3-D's representative, Yabuki Hayato."

He uncrossed his legs and stood up confidently, knowing that the sooner he did this, the sooner this practice would be over. So, with his hands still shoved into his pockets and jacket still draped over his shoulders, he walked up to the front of the podium, facing his teacher.

"This certifies…" she started, but was cut off by her student being silly.

Hayato pulled his left hand out of his pocket and lifted his arm to grab the mock diplomas out of her hands. "Thanks." he says, slightly bowing his head and turning to leave her.

"Hey, Hey, don't 'thanks'." she grabbed his wrist before he actually did turn around and snatched the papers back from him. "Use both of your hands and lower your head." she told him.

He reluctantly did so. So, she turned the papers so that when he looked down at them, they would be right side up. "Here." she said, handing them to him.

Instead of bowing his head however, he threw it back. "Yes…" he mumbled. Bringing his head back down and turning to the class, he got a bit hyper. The practice was finally over. "Now that we have our diplomas, it means the ceremony is…"

"Over!" they all cheered.

"Who wants theirs?" Hayato held them up like prizes to be won at a gambling hall…

The guys all hooted and hollered, reaching for the papers like animals as Hayato made his way through the crowd.

Kumiko watched them like that and began to worry. "Are they going to be okay during the ceremony like this?"

* * *

"Man!" Kiri complained loudly. "Those stupid rehearsals took all day!"

"I know, they ate up all of our time…" Mitsu nodded her head in agreement.

"Totally sucks." Maki added.

"Yeah." Juri sighed.

"It still has to happen, whether we like it or not…" Sayo mentioned lowly. Only Saya was able to hear her.

"True…" Saya agreed.

"Too bad our days like this are coming to a close though…" Maki mentioned, a hint of sadness in her voice.

With the reminder that they would more than likely only have about a month together before they all took their separate paths, they all drifted off into their thoughts a little.

"Yeah…" they all mumbled in agreement.

The girls decided to head home since they were pretty tired from all the things they had to do today. Saya and Sayo walked together in silence, each thinking about what had happened just a few days ago.

"Sayo, why didn't you apply for a college?" Saya asked out of the blue.

Sayo looked up from the pavement to the sky thoughtfully. "I guess I just don't want to go just yet." she answered.

"Hmm…" Saya nodded her head.

"Or maybe I just don't want to go at all…" Sayo mumbled again.

With that, Saya looked over at her cousin curiously. "What do you mean by that?"

"I guess I just…" Sayo tried to find the right words to fit the way she felt about what the next few years could possibly have in store for her. "Want to let the wind carry me through these next couple years."

"That's a powerful judgment." Saya blinked at her cousin's thoughts.

"Well, I don't want to be just another girl who graduated from high school, you know?" Sayo then looked over to Saya with a small smile on her face.

"I know." Saya smiled back.

"Though, I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to keep myself afloat…" Sayo mumbled, looking back down at the pavement again.

"I'm in the same boat." Saya chuckled.

The two kept walking until they had to split ways in order to make it home.

* * *

The guys were sitting at Café de Rovne, minding their own business and just chilling out with each other in general, when the detective Yankumi hated the attitude of so much waltzed in like he owned the place. "Welcome." said the owner as the detective walked by him.

The five were sitting in the usual fashion. Hayato and Ryu on the couch. The other three on the chairs with their backs facing the entrance. They all sat up and were alert when they saw the man standing there sternly.

"Long time no see, see." he greeted with a gruff tone, which was normal, and his head tilted to the right a bit.

The guys were silent, not wanting to cause any trouble for themselves or the manager of the bar. So the detective figured he'd not waste time and just continued. "You guys hanging around with each other as usual?" he asked, not really caring.

Hayato leaned his head on the back of the couch. "We've done nothing to have cops involved." he told the man before he continued any further. Ryu kept his gaze on the older man, curious on the inside as to why the older man was there.

"Do you know where Kudou is?" the man asked, getting to his main reason for coming into contact with the five.

"Kudou?" Ryu asked, as if he was confused as to why the man would be saying that name. A flashback hit the five of them all at once.

It was only two weeks after Yankumi had started working as their homeroom teacher. A senpai of theirs who was expelled from Kurogin, his name Kudou, asked Hayato and Ryu if they wanted to join his gang. The two refused. With Ryu being newer to all their plans since he had been gone for two months before, got caught by Kudou's gang after they had all split up and the gang was chasing after them.

Ryu and Hayato got caught by the cops, it was a big mess. But it was cleared up by Yankumi, who beat up Kudou and got him jailed for what Ryu and Hayato were being charged with. Kudou had sworn revenge on them all, including Yankumi.

"Wasn't he caught for theft?" Ryu asked, sitting up on the edge of the couch, all business now. The question was slightly rhetorical, meant to prod the detective into telling them why he actually came to see them in particular tonight.

The older man sighed and sat down on the chair he was next to. "He escaped last night." he admitted.

"Escaped?" Tsuchi repeated, shocked that something like this would happen.

"Wait, what?" Hyuga didn't think he'd heard right.

"Really?" Take asked, leaning forward with wide eyes.

"He's your senpai, right?" the man proceeded. "Do you know anything?" the real reasoning behind this visit was finally out of the bag.

"We don't know anything." Ryu told him, giving off a slightly bad tone. He was irked, just like the rest of them, that the man still thought they had any connections to the bastard after he tried to frame them.

"Huh?" the older man looked from Ryu to the other three. "You guys aren't thinking of doing something stupid before graduation, are you?" his tone was suspecting.

Hayato and Ryu stood up, causing the other three to follow, feeling somewhat threatened and put down by the older man's speech. "We said we don't know." Hayato reiterated for the man.

"I see." he wasn't really putting up much of a fight with the boys. "Sorry for disturbing." he then stood up and left, shoving Take's shoulder like he always does to someone on his way out.

Hayato and Ryu had troubled looks on their faces after the man left. This wasn't good for them at all.

One thing they didn't want was for the girls to find out they were in any kind of danger.

* * *

The next day, the guys were kind of bored. Saya and Sayo weren't hanging with the girls either. The girls joked around with the guys telling them that those two had a "secret agenda". Of course, Tsuchi and Hyuga were being perverted about that little comment.

"It's not something like that, honest." Maki struggled to clarify. Those two just didn't want to give it up. The rest of the guys watched, not attempting to help the girls at all.

"Yeah, really." Juri added in.

"If you won't tell us then it has to be." Hyuga argued with a smirk on his face.

"Why must you think with your genitals?" Kiri asked, sounding a bit disgusted.

"Hey, it's our best friend, how can we say no to it?" Tsuchi shrugged.

"Ew. Way too much information, thank you." Mitsu shivered and looked away.

"I thought that was common knowledge." Hyuga blinked a couple times, an air of question around his comment.

"Maybe to you guys, but not us ladies!" Mitsu argued.

"Sorry…" Tsuchi sounded sarcastic.

Juri and Maki hung their heads and sighed. This won't be good. Mitsu and Kiri were working on getting irritated. They both peeked up a little. Mitsu and Kiri had their fists formed at their sides already.

"Uh oh…" Juri mumbled.

"I know…" Maki nodded her head in agreement. "At least they'll learn from this experience…" she mentioned lightly.

"Maybe, but doubtful…" Juri shot down the thought quickly.

Luckily for them, they were in the park and no one was around. If a group of people witnessed this they would be in a lot of trouble for making a scene in public.

"I really hate it when guys are inconsiderate and don't think before they speak…" Mitsu glowered, her fists shaking at her side.

"I hear you Mi-chan." Kiri agreed, making no movements at all.

The guys were about to say something, but heard music in the distance that screamed street dancers were about. They looked around curiously for the source of the sound.

"You hear that?" Take was looking around as he inquired of the others.

"Don't try to change the subject!" Mitsu chastised before she heard the music too.

The girls began to look around too. They were close to the shrine and Tetsu and Minoru's takoyaki stand. From the volume that they were hearing the song at, that was the logical place for it to be coming from.

"That sounds familiar…" Kiri mumbled and the other three girls nodded in agreement.

Without thinking, they got up and left the guys to investigate on their own. The guys all looked at them, astonished that they were being totally contradictory to what they had just said.

"What hypocrites…" Ryu mumbled lowly as they watched the girls leave.

They quickly made the decision to follow them in case it was either dangerous or interesting enough to watch. When they all got to the takoyaki stand, it was closed up. Tetsu and Minoru were standing a little ways away from the attraction. The two groups got closer to see what it was and were surprised to find their first subjects of conversation there. On the exact opposite side of the sidewalk was their cousin, Noda Takeshi, and an older woman the groups didn't recognize.

Takeshi had his camera in hand and was pointing it at the two, who were dancing to their hearts content. The girls knew the two were going to be with Takeshi for another photo shoot, but they didn't know it was one that involved them dancing.

"I guess this answers our questions…" Tsuchi mumbled while watching the two girls.

Hyuga only nodded his head in agreement.

"See, we told you so!" Mitsu and Kiri stuck their tongues out at the two childishly.

"Alright, you win." Tsuchi sighed, fanning himself and watching the two girls dance.

The song was Crystal Kay's "Candy". They were breaking it down too. The woman standing behind Takeshi was smiling broadly, mouthing the words to the song and swaying to the beat while watching the two dance. Takeshi said nothing to them while he snapped shots of them in motion.

Once the song ended, the two girls walked over to Minoru and Tetsu to retrieve their water bottles. They sighed heavily trying to catch their breath. Takeshi stood up straight, pulled his laptop out of it's bag, and sat down on a bench with it on his lap. The older woman followed him but didn't sit down next to him. She only hovered over his shoulder. The two scanned through the pictures after they were all uploaded to the laptop.

Meanwhile, Tetsu and Minoru were chatting with Saya and Sayo about their performance. "You two were amazing." Minoru told them while nodding his head with his big, cute chubby smile.

"Thanks." The two smiled.

"You should teach Ojou to dance like that." Tetsu mentioned and all the guys stopped for a moment to imagine this. Even Takeshi, who was deeply immersed in his photos.

After a horrible view in their heads of their teacher trying to be like a young gangster, the guys all shuddered.

"Then again… maybe not…" Tetsu corrected himself before the two agreed.

Takeshi, on the other hand, started to laugh at the thought. The others looked over at him curiously.

"That would be a sin against nature." he busted out like a hyena.

"That's a little mean, Takeshi." the woman behind him commented lowly with a slight pout.

"Sorry, but if you'd met her you would probably say the same." Takeshi got out between laughs.

"Not only would she be incapable of pulling off the visage…" Sayo started, helping to prove Takeshi's point.

"She wouldn't want to dance like that anyway." Saya finished, shrugging her shoulders.

"True…" Tetsu mumbled.

"It's okay, Tetsu-san." Saya smiled at him reassuringly.

"It was a fun topic though." Sayo chuckled a little.

"True." Takeshi nodded his head while looking back at the photos again.

"Do you see any really good ones?" the woman behind Takeshi asked.

"Yeah, they did really good this time. A lot better than their older ones." Takeshi nodded his head with a small smile.

"Really?" Saya's head snapped in his direction, a huge smile on her face.

Takeshi looks up at her with a smirk. "Really."

"Uwahh!" Saya and Sayo grew happier with the comment.

"Really girls, you did great." the woman behind Takeshi smiled at the two.

"Thanks Miku-san." the two smiled broadly at Miku.

"It's the truth." Miku shrugged.

"Noda-san, can we see them too?" Mitsu blew their cover and made their presence known.

Saya and Sayo looked over to the source of the voices. Their faces clearly showed the surprise of the guys being there as well. Takeshi looked over them as well and thought for a moment.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt." he mumbled. "Sure."

"Yay!" the girls smiled and bounded over to his side to peer at the photos on the screen.

The girls watched as Takeshi scrolled through the pictures and they made faces when they really liked them. Saya and Sayo could only sigh at their behavior. The two looked back at the guys pointedly, thinking they were up to something. But instead of asking straight out, they figured they'd annoy them first.

"So," Saya started with a devilish smirk on her features. "how was school today?"

Hayato's face immediately went sour. "Don't remind us…" he muttered darkly.

"Oh?" Sayo joined in, seeing that poking fun this time would indeed be fun.

"What happened?" Saya pressed on, smirk still present.

"Well…" Take started, drifting into a flashback for the whole group.

**_**Earlier, 3-D Classroom**_**

Kumiko walked in with a stack of papers in hand. Her face was all light and airy, as were her steps around the classroom. The guys were all looking at her as if she were an alien, which she did seem like one at times… But, this time especially. She was very perky while handing out the papers she brought in with her.

"Here." she said to them as she gave each person in the front of each row a stack to pass back with a bright smile. "This is the ceremony's program. Here, pass these out." she stood in front of them politely.

They couldn't say anything in return. She was acting way too weird and freaking them out a bit.

"The graduation ceremony will start at nine in the morning." she informed them, heading into the first row. "So, don't be late, okay?" she told innocently. She looked as though she were talking to a bunch of ten year olds…

The way she said that really freaked them out now. No one was really paying attention as they passed the programs back. "Yes, go ahead and pass them out." she said again.

After that little odd demonstration of her mood, Hyuga wasn't paying attention, didn't grab the papers and dropped them on the floor. As soon as she saw them hit the floor, she rushed over to pick them up.

While fixing the papers in her hands, she looks at Hyuga and asks "Are you alright?". All the guys are looking at her, astonished. "Here, next time don't drop it, okay?" she told Hyuga, holding the papers out to him. At the end she tilted her head all the way to the right with a bright smile.

"Uh okay…" Hyuga answered, holding the papers and staring out right at her odd behavior.

With that, she turned away from him and sauntered up to the front of the row again. Then she started daydreaming. Now, while the daydreaming was normal, the talking out loud about it was not.

"Yankumi…" Take tried to get her attention.

"Not Yankumi…" she started with her eyes closed. "Please call me Kumiko!"

"Kumiko?" Hayato answered, knowing that she was still daydreaming and wanting to pull her out of it. While it was hilarious, no one said a word and watched.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, turning around with her eyes closed to face the back of the classroom. She opened them and remembered where she was suddenly. She looked disappointed that it was just Hayato that had said that, and that she was still in the school.

"Don't daydream while handing out papers." Ryu scolded her calmly, looking blankly at her.

"Yes…" she answered and turned away, seeming really disappointed now.

_****Back to the present****_

"And that's how it happened…" Take ended the explanation. Tsuchi and Hyuga shuddered a little bit while Hayato and Ryu tried to remain calm in front of the girls.

Saya and Sayo blinked three times before busting out into a fit of laughter. Tetsu and Minoru joined soon after. Takeshi started howling as well.

The guys looked at them as if they had gone crazy or something. "What the hell…" Hayato mumbled.

"Oh, sorry…" Saya told them in between laughs. "It's just, I'm pretty sure that was about a guy or something."

"Yeah, she only gets that way when something happens and it has to do with the guy she likes." Sayo added in.

Tetsu and Minoru stopped laughing first. The two remembered when Kumiko came to the takoyaki stand and had some with Kuma before leaving for her "date".

"She said she had a date tonight." Minoru mentioned.

"Oh? With who?" Saya asked, still trying to calm her laughter.

"She said Kujo." Tetsu muttered out.

"Eh!" the girls were shocked now. Takeshi was like Saya and Sayo were, still trying to calm his laughter.

"Kujo as in, Momojo's Kujo-sensei?" Maki asked from afar.

"Yeah." Minoru nodded.

"Maji ka yo!" Kiri and Mitsu almost fell down.

"You're kidding…" Juri mumbled, astonished by their teacher's taste in women when he seemed like he would date a refined woman or something…

"Why would he want to date Kumiko-senpai?" Saya started.

"Yeah, he leaves for Hokkaido after we graduate… he doesn't seem like the type to want to be in a long distance relationship…" Sayo mumbled after Saya's question.

"He's leaving to Hokkaido?" Tetsu perked up in hearing that his love rival would disappear.

The girls only nodded as an answer.

"You wouldn't believe the ways she acted when she was 'in love' with Shinohara-san." Takeshi reeled from the bench calmly.

"That detective…" Tetsu muttered again.

"Aniki…" Minoru sounded a little worried.

"Well, anyway, Saya-chan, Sayo-chan, we should head to the studio to print the shots. You coming with or staying here?" Takeshi asked as he packed up his laptop and camera, standing from the bench.

"Yeah we'll come with." the two bounded over to their older cousin with smiles on their faces.

"Oh good, then I can tell you two a secret when Takeshi-kun's not looking." Miku smirked slyly with a laugh.

Saya and Sayo laughed with her for a moment then turned around to face the other girls. "We'll catch up with you girls later, okay?" Saya nodded.

"Mm, alright." the girls replied, nodding their heads.

"Later!" they called as they walked off with the older two.

"What about us?" Take pouted as the two disappeared down the sidewalk.

"Don't worry, we'll be talking about girl things with them later anyways. You won't want to hear that, will you?" Kiri teased with an evil grin.

"No way, keep us out of your girl talk." Hyuga made a disgusted face to accompany his comment.

"All right then, we will." Mitsu looked a tad angry because of his little comment.

"Good."

"Humph." Mitsu turned her head away from him with her eyes closed.

"Oh come on, you two are acting like children." Maki complained at their behavior.

"Yeah, really." Juri added in with a sigh.

"Not my fault." they both retorted in unison.

All the others around them stared at them in shock of what had just happened.

"Come on, let's go girls." Mitsu declared as she started to walk away from the guys before the others could even recover from what had just transpired.

The girls all blinked rapidly a few times. "Oh, uh… sure." they nodded.

"Wait up Mi-chan!" Juri called as they jogged to catch up with her.

The guys all watched them leave with blank stares. "Girls…" they muttered.

* * *

Takeshi was completely enraptured in the world that was his photo albums on his laptop. The girls were on the other side of the room, chit chatting lightly about things that had happened earlier that day. Apparently Takeshi had tuned out the rest of the world to focus on his thoughts.

"So, what was it that you wanted to tell us about Miku-san?" Saya asked curiously, leaning closer to Miku so Takeshi wouldn't hear. Although, he wouldn't hear because he wasn't paying them any mind at all.

"Oh, well…" Miku started, blushing at the sudden change of topic.

"Oh, she's blushing." Sayo smirked with delight, knowing this would be a really good bit of information.

"I'm really hoping that Takeshi-kun will agree to it…" Miku mumbled, lowering her head to hide her embarrassment.

"To what?" Saya pushed on.

"Well, I really would like to spend my life with him." Miku admitted sincerely.

Saya and Sayo couldn't say anything in response. They watched Miku for a moment, then looked up at each other with smiles on their faces. That was all the communication they needed.

"Don't worry, Miku-san. I would give you my blessings if it does happen." Saya told the woman sincerely.

"Mm. Me too, I would welcome you with open arms." Sayo's smile softened into a caring and comforting one.

Miku looked up at both the girls. Seeing their sweet faces helped her perk up a bit. "Thanks you two." she chuckled.

"Has he said anything to you about that sort of thing?" Saya inquired again, but the tone of the question was somewhat serious this time.

Miku only shook her head. "But I don't mind." she answered. "I know he still has school things to deal with and his dream to achieve. So I'm in no hurry really."

"Well, I'm really glad you care so much about him Miku-san." Sayo piped up.

"Why is that?" Miku looked over to Sayo with a questioning expression.

"Because, he's such a good guy even though he has such a past…" Sayo started to explain, a retrospective air hung over her face. "He's had a lot of disappointments with women, plus he's helped me out a lot throughout my days."

"You really care for him, don't you, Sayo-chan?" Miku smiled sweetly at Sayo, Saya watching the two with a bright expression on her face, expressing that she was enjoying the conversation.

"He's my important cousin, just like Saya." Sayo's retrospective look turned into a very happy one with a bright smile attached to it.

"Glad to hear it." Saya continued to smile brightly.

Takeshi finally dislodged himself from his inner world and looked away from the laptop. "Saya-chan, Sayo-chan, come on over to look." he called.

The girls' heads snapped in his direction at the sound of his voice. "Sure." the two nodded their heads and bounded over to him from the couch they were on.

Miku stayed there, watching the three interact with each other. "If only I knew what he was thinking…" she whispered to herself.

* * *

A few hours later, the girls are out walking around in the park. They were waiting for Saya and Sayo to show up. Who knew where they were, what they were doing, or how long they were going to be. And they opted out of trying to find them because they already learned their lesson last time. Finding those two, as odd as it may seem, was just about as hard as finding a needle in a haystack.

"Man, those two are never on time, are they?" Kiri complained, sitting on the edge of the fountain.

"I know…" Mitsu added in, tapping her foot rapidly against the pavement.

"Now now, they'll be here." Maki tried to calm the two down. They had been worked up ever since the little argument with the guys earlier…

"Saya will probably call us when they're on their way." Juri shrugged, knowing how the two girls were.

Just after Juri mentioned a phone call, Mitsu's rang in her pocket. She jumped up, startled by the sudden noise and vibration on her hip. Fishing it out of her pocket with a scowl, she checked the caller ID to see if Juri's assumption was true.

Bingo.

Flipping it open hurriedly, she clicked one button to put it on speaker. "You know what?" she answered with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"What?" Saya answered, a little playful.

"You are so late." Mitsu answered in a matter-of-fact way.

"We know." Saya replied indifferently. "Takeshi-kun was having inner arguments until Miku-san helped him out."

"Oh." the other girls responded.

"We'll be there in a few, okay?"

"Alright, but be quick-footed please." Mitsu conformed to the prolonged wait.

"Sure." and Saya hung up.

"Well, at least it won't be too much longer before they get here, right?" Maki tried to cheer up Mitsu.

"Whatever." Mitsu sighed and joined Kiri on the edge of the fountain.

"Now we have to wait." Kiri mumbled.

Just a few minutes later, the two girls they were waiting on turned the corner with heavy steps. For some reason, they were running quite fast.

"What are you two running from?" Maki asked, seemingly confused by their actions.

"Sorry." Saya huffed between her gasps for air.

"We ran as fast as we could to get here quickly." Sayo finished, huffing just like her cousin.

"I didn't mean you had to high tail it here…" Mitsu mumbled irritably.

"Well, we wanted to get here quickly anyways." Saya shrugged once she caught her breath.

"Why is that?" Kiri got suspicious rather quickly after hearing that.

"Well, we've been so busy with graduation things, we forgot to mention something that we managed to pull off getting last Sunday." Saya explained, a smile spreading across her face and her breathing stabilizing.

"And that would be?" Mitsu started tapping her foot against the pavement once more, losing her patience.

"We have successfully secured a room for us to sit around in and sing karaoke as much as we want at the Dream Star." Sayo wore a smirk instead of a smile.

The other four were silent for a moment, taking in all the information that had just been sang into their ears. Had they heard right?

"No way!" Maki gasped, her jaw hanging open in aw.

"There isn't an extra cost for the karaoke, is there?" Mitsu narrowed her eyes with suspicion.

"Nope, since Friday is karaoke open mic night and the karaoke is used as entertainment as well." Saya explained. "Of course, there is no screen in the main room. The only thing singers on the dance floor have to go by is a little television on a stand that has the lyrics scrolling."

"Wow, that would be too hard for me…" Juri chuckled a little, even though she was totally serious about what she said.

"How did you two get this free room?" Maki asked out of curiosity. Hey, it's not like something like this happens everyday.

"Well, we visited two more times to see what the crowd was like, you know? To get a feel for it." Saya started the explanation well.

"Yeah, and?" Mitsu prodded impatiently.

"I guess DJ Tama took a liking to us or something, because he worked out a deal with his boss and conveyed that we were soon-to-be graduates." Sayo continued, gesturing a little here and there.

"Okay…" Kiri nodded, not quite understanding the significance.

"Well, it just so happens that the guy's daughter graduated from Momojo last year, so he gave us a special for our graduation night." Saya finished, a triumphant smile on her face by the end.

"Wow, that's pretty cool." Juri smiled brightly, excited that she could sing all night long and not have to worry about a song limit.

"I'll say." Mitsu and Kiri both finally snapped out of their irritation when they heard the special condition.

"We should thank the men properly when we have the chance." Maki instructed the girls firmly, holding up one index finger like a teacher would when scolding an elementary school student.

"Yes ma'am." they all nodded with amused smiles playing their lips.

Maki could only shake her head at their childish behavior.

"Oh, and also, Takeshi-kun is offering to shoot your photos for graduation if you wish." Sayo informed the others. "He'll do it for free since it's kind of like a charity." she chuckled a little at the end, knowing how her older cousin was when it came to free things, especially when he was giving them.

"Oh good, my parents weren't wanting to spend any money on something like that anyways…" Mitsu mumbled.

"He said he'd do it before the graduation ceremony, so make sure you four meet us at Sayo's house." Saya told them with a straight face. "I'll be spending the night." she winked with that little bit.

"Geez, you can be so dirty sometimes, you know that?" Sayo muttered. She neglected to say what was really on her mind, which was that the comment Saya had made just then reminded her of Yabuki-kun… Which was just a little creepy.

"Well then, we'll be there." Kiri winked and held her thumb up.

"It's getting pretty late, we should head home for tonight." Maki suggested.

The girls all agreed, bade their farewells for the night, and headed home individually.

* * *

So the guys were hanging out in Café de Rovne when Yankumi comes barreling through the door, yelling at them. "You guys!"

"Oh, sit down!" Tsuchi nods as he sees her, Hyuga laying on the couch with his head by the taller boy.

"Yo, yo!" Hayato greets as he sets down his drink and looks up at their teacher. Ryu looks at the others over his shoulders since he was at the bar.

"What do you mean, 'yo'?" she asks them, stumbling around Hayato, stopping in between the two chairs to look at them all. "Weren't you guys in a fight?" she looked confused.

"Fight?" Hayato asks, almost as if the possibility was not present. He was also looking up at the confused woman. "We didn't say that." he turns his head to the guys, sticking some kind of food into his mouth.

"Takeda." Yankumi tried to press, seeing as Take was the one who called her in the first place… "You called and said they were fighting or something."

"Huh? I said we stopped two drunks from fighting." he told her, making a small gesture for 'stop'.

"Heh?" the older woman looked even more confused and dumbfounded as the boys carried on.

"And that drunk gave us money as thanks." Tsuchi informed her, taking a bit of the food that was there for his own. Yankumi looked over at him.

Hyuga took out the money they received and held it out like a fan to show how they got from the guy. "We told him no, but he was being pushy."

By this time, Ryu saw it as his time to join the conversation. He grabbed his drink and made his way to the empty chair next to Hayato, explaining the reason behind the all on his way over. "So, we decided to call you for advice."

"I didn't think you'd hang up and come straight here." Take thought out loud, holding the straw in his drink before taking a sip.

"So, you weren't fighting then…?" Yankumi asked in disbelief. Not because of the fact that _they_ weren't fighting, but another reason…

Hayato stood from his chair, drink in hand. "Yankumi," he started, turning to look at their teacher. "Let's start listening to people till they finish, okay?" he instructed her, bouncing the glass in his hand with almost every word he said. After he was finished, he headed over to the bar for a refill.

The guys laughed a little at what he said to her and she was devastated. Again, not because her student was instructing her, but for another reason…

A string had been pulled tight in her head as she realized what he said was true… She quickly turned around and knelt down to lean on the table that was sitting behind her. She looked distant, almost as if she had spaced out.

The guys all had their lips pursed around their straws, sipping their drinks through them. Hayato was returning to his seat with his newly filled glass.

"Just when I was about to confess to Kujo-sensei…" she muttered to herself.

They all heard the word 'confess' and turned around. "Confess?"

Her eyes widened as she realized, yet again, that she had said that out loud. She looked over at their questioning faces and quickly turned away. "No, nothing…"

The guys just looked away, shaking their heads.

* * *

The girls didn't go to school the next day. Instead, they hit up the shopping districts to find things to wear to the ceremony as well as to their graduation party.

Saya and Sayo strayed from the pack around lunch time. They had to go talk with DJ Tama about some shout outs they wanted to do during their little party.

So the other four grabbed lunch without them.

"What should we eat?" Juri smiled as she inquired of the girls' opinions.

"Let's go have sushi." Kiri suggested. "I feel like toro…"

"Yeah, and I could go for ebi." Mitsu agreed, smiling widely.

"I'm not sure what I'll want yet…" Maki placed her fist on her chin thoughtfully.

"All right then, sushi it is!" Juri announced, thrusting one of her fists into the air.

"Hey now, don't hit anyone, okay?" Mitsu chuckled at her friends' behavior.

"Sorry…" Juri replied, giggling a little.

The girls headed to a nearby rotating sushi bar to sit down at and enjoy their lunch. They each had their preferences and had a conversation about the upcoming graduation ceremony.

"Man, it's too close." Mitsu complained, popping a piece of ebi-sushi into her mouth.

"I know, it almost doesn't seem real." Maki nodded her head in agreement, grabbing a plate off the belt.

"Try to imagine how I'm going to feel when I have no one to talk to after class." Kiri exaggerated, feeling like she was going to be the only one with problems…

"We'll all feel that way Kiri." Juri giggled at the complaint, leaning forward to grab a plate off the belt.

"Besides, didn't you," Maki pointed over at Kiri, "apply for the same college as me anyway?" she asked.

Kiri had this look covering her face that told the other girls 'I've been found out…'. She sat like that for a few seconds before clumsily opening and closing her mouth while she tried to get words to come out.

"Busted." Mitsu whispered in Kiri's ear with a satisfied smirk on her face.

Kiri's face contorted even more in surprise at Mitsu's little comment. She whipped her head to the side to face Mitsu. "Shh!"

"The cat's out of the bag, Kiri." Maki smirked before popping her sushi into her mouth casually.

"Man, I almost regret telling you guys about it." Kiri pouted, turning back to her sushi.

"Oh lighten up," Mitsu started, lifting her sushi to her mouth, "it's not like it's the end of the world or anything."

"Yeah yeah…" Kiri muttered.

"Saya applied for the same university as Mitsu too." Juri tried to reassure Kiri by re-informing her of this little bit of info.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Kiri giggled a little.

The other three sighed and carried on with consuming their sushi.

"Come to think of it," Maki started, looking thoughtful again, "I don't think Sayo applied for any universities or colleges."

"Yeah, she didn't." Juri nodded. "She wants to let life drag her along for the next few years, she said."

"Is that so?" Mitsu nodded, grabbing another plate of ebi.

"Wow, she sure isn't picky, huh?" Kiri laughed a little, grabbing a plate of toro off the belt.

"Mm." Maki nodded once.

* * *

Saya and Sayo knocked on the door to the Dream Star and waited for a response. It only took a couple minutes before they were greeted by a man dressed in a white button down, black slacks covered by a black apron around his waist, and a pair of shiny black dress shoes. The man's hair was unruly and an odd shade of blue. His brown eyes peered at the girls questioningly.

"Can I help you ladies?" he asked politely.

"Yes, is DJ Tama here?" Saya asked with a smile.

"Oh, you're here for Yoshida-kun…" the man mumbled, nodding his head in understanding for a moment before turning around. "One sec." And he walked off quickly into the club.

"That was a little odd…" Sayo mumbled to her cousin, who was still smiling.

"I know…"

The girls could hear faint voices coming from inside but hadn't a clue as to what they were actually saying. However, they had an idea when the blue-haired man came back with DJ Tama right behind him.

"Hey girls, how've you been?" DJ Tama asked in a friendly tone. His smile almost made Saya swoon a little but she stopped herself from doing so.

"Oh, pretty good." the two replied with small smiles.

"Well, that's good to hear." he chuckles a little. "Come on in."

The girls followed DJ Tama as he led them to a booth inside the club. The blue-haired guy turned out to be the bartender. Now, DJ Tama is considerably hot. It wasn't mentioned before, but this twenty year old man is tall, with dark brown hair, styled modernly and beautiful, deep brown eyes to go along with his luscious locks (AN: Think Yamashita Tomohisa). This time he was sporting a white button down shirt with a beautiful dark blue vine design on the front, loose fitting dark blue jeans, and a pair of original black Chuck Taylor converse.

The girls had to sit across from this hunk too.

"So, your graduation is tomorrow, right?" he inquired casually with a smile.

"Yes, and we'll be here tomorrow night after the ceremony." Sayo nodded with a smirk. She could tell Saya was having a hard time coping with the gorgeousness of the older man in front of them and she was enjoying seeing her like this. It was highly amusing to her.

"I see…" he nodded in understanding. "The two of you have questions about shout outs, am I right?"

"Yes." Saya answered, snapping out of her small haze.

"Well, let's hear them." he smirked.

"How many can we make?" Saya continued.

"As many as you want."

"Will it cost us anything?" Saya kept going. Sayo watched her cousin out of the corner of her eyes.

"Not at all."

"Tomorrow night is karaoke night, correct?" Sayo peeped up.

"You are correct." His smirk grew a little.

"Will that cost us extra?" Saya inquired again.

"Nope, karaoke is included in your package."

"Oh, well that's a relief." Saya smiled.

"Not only that, on karaoke night, all karaoke is free since it's voluntary." he continued. "Plus, with your package, you can sing karaoke in your little room in the back with the choice of everyone hearing it or not. Or you can just sing out here."

"Oh cool." Saya's eyes started to sparkle. "That means we can stay anonymous to the crowds."

"Absolutely."

"Hmm, well I think that covers everything we really wanted to know about." Sayo concluded the little visit.

"Yeah, that was all." Saya agreed.

"Well, they were good questions, ladies." DJ Tama told them as they all stood from the booth.

"Thank you for answering our questions." the two bowed simultaneously, which only creeped him out mildly.

"Not a problem." he nodded and held his hand out to shake theirs when they stood upright.

After they each shook hands with the older man, the two girls left silently and he went back to work. The bartender was not looking forward to having a bunch of newly graduated girls in the place. Just way too much immaturity for him. But maybe they would be different, who knew.

* * *

Honestly, the guys weren't having the best day in the world. A few of their classmates had come in that morning battered and bruised, telling the rest of the class that it was Kudo's doing. Hayato and Ryu both feared that the girls had already heard about this by the gossips that attended their school. And if they hadn't heard about it yet, they were bound to know by the end of the day.

To top things off, apparently the detective showed up that morning as well. The one who was spying told them that he was there telling Sawatari, though he referred to him as Saruwatari, that Kudo had escaped from jail. As well as his suspicions of Hayato and the others.

After Yankumi left the classroom, Hayato and Ryu decided to figure out how to stop the girls from knowing about their situation. For all they know, the gossip could be circulating to them right now. They needed to figure out a way to intervene, and fast.

"Man! I can't think of a way…" Hayato grumbled, hands on his head, ruffling up his own hair in frustration.

Ryu successfully suppressed his laughter, but couldn't help letting his smirk slip onto his face. Now, _that_ was a truly amusing sight indeed. Hayato, mind you.

"Have you thought of anything over there?" he grumbled again, head hung down, hands still tangled in his strands.

"No…" Ryu answered simply, laughing silently so Hayato wouldn't hear him.

"Argh!" Hayato growled, his hands ruffling around in his hair again.

"We don't even know if they're even at school or not…" Ryu reasoned, before Hayato started pulling his hair out in bunches…

Hayato yanked his hands out of his hair quickly and his head shot up to look at Ryu. "I hadn't thought of that…" he mumbled.

"Obviously…" Ryu pointed out.

"Shut up…" Hayato scowled.

Ryu only smirked as an answer. Hayato sat there glaring back at him, thinking. Who was going to call the girls and do the "dirty work"?

"Why don't we have Take call Maki-chan and see where they are…" Hayato suggested, giving the "dirty work" to Takeda. Ryu didn't answer this time, he let Hayato do as he pleased.

The two entered the classroom amongst the rest of the guys. Hayato pulled Take away from his current conversation to tell him about his little "job".

"Why am I always calling her?" Take asked, both curious and irritated about the subject.

"Because, you're the one who's closest to her." Hayato answered with a suggestive smirk playing his lips.

Take started to blush a little and turned his head away, not arguing about the answer to the question. "Fine."

Tsuchi and Hyuga slinked over and held an ear to the conversation as well. They didn't say anything, just watched, like Ryu. Take fished his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed for Maki. He was reluctant, the others could tell, to put the phone to his ear, but he did so anyway.

It rang three times before Maki picked up. At least, Take thought it was Maki.

"Hello?" It was Kiri.

"Hello Kiri-chan, did I dial the wrong number?" Take straightened up suddenly, eyes wide and panic written on his face.

"No, this is Maki's phone. Her hands are full at the moment, is there something I can do for you?" Kiri explained, giggles coming through in the background.

"Um, well I was wondering if you girls were at school today or not…" he trailed off, hating that the sound of that just wasn't great at all. In fact, he hated being nosey, especially when it came to girls. Curse Hayato for this humility.

"Nah, we're out shopping today. Actually, we're having sushi right now." Take could hear the smirk on Kiri's face when she mentioned sushi. Lucky.

"Oh, that sounds nice, what are you out shopping for?" he continued casually. At least, as casually as he could…

"Clothes, shoes, accessories. You know, girl things." Kiri listed lightly, trying to keep the little secret of their grad party under wraps.

"Ah, you must be having fun then." Take chuckled, still trying to be casual. The other guys were watching him, their faces changing every time Take said something. Confusion, question, boredom, they read every emotion that passed his eyes.

"Yeah, we're having a pretty good time. Hey! That was mine!" Kiri was now yelling at someone else who had apparently, Take guessed, took her sushi…

Some scratching, rattling, faint yelling, giggling, and finger nail clashing was heard. Take couldn't keep the phone to his ear, it was so loud. This went on for almost a minute. Maki finally took the phone from her rampaging friend and greeted take cheerfully, a few giggles still leaving her system.

"What happened?" Take asked, fearing the answer was something he didn't really want to know about.

"Oh nothing, really. Kiri and Mitsu are wrestling on the floor over a piece of toro sushi is all." Maki answered nonchalantly, as if that were normal, everyday behavior for the two girls.

Take, on the other hand, was quite amusing to the others at the moment. He had this horrified look on his face after he heard Maki's answer to his question. "Over…" he started to stutter in disbelief. "Over a piece of… TORO!"

"Eh?" the others sweat dropped, totally confused by the words coming out of Take's mouth.

"Yeah," Maki chuckled, knowing Take wasn't used to hearing about such petty fights. "Kiri's really protective of her food."

"Uh-huh…" was the only vague response Take could give. Seriously, a fight over a single piece of sushi? Something so petty? He just couldn't see the value in a fight like that.

"You okay Takeda-kun?" Maki's voice sounded through the speaker by Take's ear. He realized he was spaced out completely and the guys were staring at him.

"Yeah, I'm okay." he nodded stiffly. "So, how's your shopping going?" he asked to change the subject.

"Oh, it's going all right." Maki answered, leaving much to the imagination as to what could have been bought already.

"That's good." Take smiled. The guys were quite confused as to where the conversation was going, exactly.

"Hm?" Take could hear light questioning in the background, and knew that Maki wasn't speaking to him. "Okay… Takeda-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Sorry, we're going to go look for the rest of the group and continue our shopping spree." Maki explained. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Mm. Later." Take smiled and hung up.

"So?" Hayato inquired, eager to know the whereabouts of the girls. "Where are they?"

"They're out shopping…" Take answered with a small scowl towards Hayato.

"Oh good, then they shouldn't find out…" Hayato muttered with relief.

The guys all just looked at him with sweat drops. That's what he was worried about? Man, he sure could be crazy at times. However, even though Hayato was sure they were safe, Ryu had a sinking feeling the girls were bound to find out. Even if they weren't in school.

* * *

Saya and Sayo caught up with the rest of the girls after lunch and their talk with DJ Tama at the Dream Star. The girls were having a blast shopping for their clothes and whatnot. Saya and Sayo told them about everything they talked about with DJ Tama.

Once they all had everything they needed for the photo shoot and their grad party, the other four girls headed home to wash their new clothes before they wore them the next day and to get in a few extra hours of sleep before their big day.

Saya and Sayo decided to browse a bit more before heading towards Sayo's house.

Now, since they had absolutely no clue about what was going on with the guys, the two of them seeing Tsuchiya and Hyuga running down the street was completely coincidence.

Apparently Tsuchiya and Hyuga had stopped to admire a poster of a woman on a billboard and fell behind the others. The two girls found the two of their behavior odd and decided to pull a Yankumi.

They followed the two boys to a warehouse. Hayato, Ryu, and Take were waiting for the two in front of the doors.

"Hurry up!" Hayato hissed at the two in a low, harsh whisper.

Saya and Sayo hid behind a large metal crate across the way from the doors. Their expressions were full of curiosity and worry. Why did they always find those idiots in bad situations?

Once the five boys entered, Saya and Sayo made haste to the door and peeked their heads around the corners to see what was happening. The leader of the gang the guys were confronting came close to them. He looked really creepy, even for their standards. Two of the other 3-D students were on the ground, bleeding from their mouths. Apparently the guys were lured in by a hostage setup.

The girls hid behind a structure close to the door so they could hear, and if anyone else was going to come in they wouldn't be seen as easily. They watched them get hit by the leader, whose name hadn't been mentioned yet, and heard what they were telling him about their promise with Yankumi. Every time Hayato or Ryu would get hit, the two girls, respectively, winced.

After a little bit of talking, the leader walked away from the guys, letting his lackeys go in to do their dirty work. The girls saw them clench their fists at their sides, holding back their urge to protect themselves and fight back. Sayo turned her back this time. She couldn't watch them get beat up again. She didn't have it in her.

Saya felt the same, but if they both turned their backs, neither would know what was going on. So Saya watched, for both herself, and Sayo.

A few minutes later, the rest of the class came running into the warehouse. Misawa was at the back of the pack, so Saya decided to stop him. She grabbed his arm as he passed her. "Oi, Misawa-kun!"

Misawa was jerked back a little by the force of Saya's grip on his arm. He turned his body to look at the girl holding him back from joining his classmates. "Saya-chan? Sayo-chan?" surprise was evident in his voice when he saw the two of them standing there. "What are you two doing here? It's dangerous!"

"Like I care!" Saya retorted, irritated by the indirect comment about women being weaker than man. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's a bit obvious, isn't it? We're trying to save our friends." he replied, a little calmer than before.

"But, who is that guy? And what does he want from you guys?" Saya, more anxiously, asked again. Her worry accidentally slipped through her voice.

Sayo was standing behind Saya, trying to avert her eyes from the fighting scene ahead of them. She heard all the hits connecting in the background and a few grunts of pain from the guys.

"His name is Kudo, he's our senpai. He was expelled last year before he got to graduate. He wants to stop us from graduating because he thinks we're the same as him." Misawa answered as quickly as possible, trying not to stumble on his words.

Saya let his arm go. "I see…"

Misawa didn't reply. As soon as her hand was off of his arm, he rushed over to the rest of his classmates and joined in the defense.

The only thing the girls heard from the five who first showed up were their harsh, weary voices, yelling at their classmates to stop fighting. Of course, they didn't listen because they're hard headed. Saya saw Ryu, in the middle of the whole group clash, approaching Kudo. He was limping and trying to ask the man to stop the fighting. He got punched in the face for it.

Hayato got socked in the face hard and fell backwards to the floor. Saya bit down hard on her lip in order to stop from screaming, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and her flesh slowly began to tear under her teeth. The blood trickled into her mouth and she swallowed hard.

In a way, she kind of looked like Hayato as well. His lip was busted though. She only tore a little skin. But they were both bleeding from the mouth. At that moment, she saw exactly what he saw.

Ryu, struggling his way to Kudo on the floor with his arms pulling his body forward. Ryu grabbed Kudo's ankle as firmly as he could. He pleaded for the man to stop the fighting again. This time, he was kicked and left on the floor. Kudo wasn't finished with him though.

Sayo chose the wrong time to turn around to see what was going on since Saya was being so quiet. It's not that Saya was doing it on purpose. She was just in too much shock, not to mention worried out of her mind, to tell Sayo anything about what was going on.

So, the two watched, with wide eyes, as Kudo prepared to impale Ryu in the back with a lead pipe. Hayato was forced to watch too, since he tried to help his friend.

Tears formed rapidly in Sayo's eyes as the pipe drew in closer to Ryu's back. Sayo couldn't watch again. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, only able to hear Hayato scream 'Stop!' at he man. She wasn't in as much control of herself as Saya was, so Sayo wasn't able to stop herself from screaming.

Yankumi saved their cover, however, as she burst in through the door, yelling "Don't touch them any further!" in her loudest yakuza voice.

The pipe didn't impale Ryu. Saya sighed and allowed herself to fall back a little, sitting herself on the floor next to Sayo. "Man, that's a twisted graduation gift…" Saya mumbled. "Seeing them get beat up and almost die…"

Sayo couldn't reply to the harsh whisper her cousin was exhaling. She couldn't really hear anything at the moment. She was too shocked from what almost happened to even think straight. Sayo was shaking from her shock, it was that bad.

Saya waited for Sayo to calm down, seeing the state she was in. She'd never seen her this bad before. Instead of watching Kumiko fight Kudo, she watched Sayo closely in order to make sure she was fine.

Kudo was finally caught again, thanks to Kumiko. The whole of 3-D sat together in the warehouse, just beat. They were all too tired to move from where they were. Yeah, this'll surely be a fun sight at the graduation ceremony tomorrow…

Sayo began to regain herself. Saya waited patiently for her cousin to ask her something first. Sayo slowly looked up at Saya blankly. Her face was tear-stained and eyes red. Saya sighed at the sight. This would also be a fun sight to have for the rest of the night…

"Is it over?" Sayo murmured, face still blank. She was prepared to hear the worst.

"Mm. That Kudo guy was caught by the detective." Saya replied, copying the blank expression of her counter part.

"Good." Sayo sighed deeply. Her shoulders slumped and she hung her head. A few more tears fell, but they were tears of relief.

Saya didn't say anything, she only smirked, shedding her own few tears of relief as well.

The two gathered themselves as Kumiko told the class that she was proud of them and that they were truly her students. The bonding moment gave them enough time to make it not so obvious that they had been crying. After they heard Kumiko's voice stop, they stood from their spots and revealed themselves to the rest of the class.

All the guys, including Kumiko, heard foot steps in the background and turned to find out what the source was. Misawa wasn't surprised at all. Kumiko and the others were though.

"Saya-chan? Sayo-chan? Why are you two here?" Kumiko questioned as she made her way to the two girls standing awkwardly near the entrance.

"Nothing, really…" they answered together, sounding seriously suspicious, even for them.

Kumiko didn't let the suspicion she heard in their voices slip past her ears. "You sound too suspicious…" Kumiko muttered, eyeing the girls with a semi-serious gaze.

"Eh?" Saya jumped a little and averted her eyes from her sempai, making her look even more suspicious, "Really?" she asked.

"Yes, you're acting even more suspicious than before!" Kumiko grumbled loudly, the class just looking on in both amusement and curiosity as to why the two girls really were there.

Saya was playing with fire. A raging pit of lava, waiting to unload on her at a moments notice. She knew this and yet, she continued to goof around. She scratched the back of her head innocently. A big, cheesy grin spread across her face.

Sayo was standing silently behind her cousin with her head down. She didn't want to see them. She listened to the conversation and could tell Saya was goofing around on purpose. It was Saya's own way of trying to cheer her up. A small, bitter smile spread on Sayo's face.

Saya paused, looking back at Sayo from the corner's of her eyes. Even though her head was down, Saya could see the smile. So, without any further ado, she decided to finish acting. She returned her sights to her angry volcano. Behind the volcano was a small stream of badly beaten, yet smiling, as best they could, boys. It seems that they too, were amused.

Saya took a deep breath. "This was pure coincidence, I swear!" she exclaimed, bowing in the process.

Kumiko, and the guys, were taken aback by this. They stared at her, waiting for more to be said.

Saya stood up straight again to continue. "We only followed Hyuga-kun and Tsuchiya-kun because they were acting weird."

Hayato shot a quick glare at the two. They just chuckled awkwardly, knowing Hayato wasn't going to be very happy when he's healed. They'll be in trouble.

"We really didn't mean for this to happen again," Saya finished, "We're sorry." With that said, both girls bowed.

The others were really astonished by her sincerity. Kumiko felt bad for getting so angry. She knew that seeing what they saw was probably very depressing for them. After all, they were sort of close to the guys.

The two girls stood up straight and turned to leave. Saya put her hands on Sayo's shoulders while they walked out to comfort her some more.

Kumiko jogged after them, but they were already out of sight by the time she made it to the doorway. She sighed, turning her head in the direction from which the two girls had appeared from. She would have turned all the way around if she hadn't noticed the small wet spots on the ground. Curious, she knelt down to take a closer look. Quickly, the conclusion of the wet spots being tear stains popped into her head. "Sayo-chan?" she questioned herself lowly. "Or was it Saya-chan?"

Kumiko stood up and looked out the doorway again. She didn't have a clue as to which girl shed the tears. Her facial expression got serious as she thought hard to recall any kind of hint.

Then it hit her. Right as she was walking in, she heard Hayato scream 'Stop!'. But she also heard another scream. It was more high pitched and girly. Since it was Ryu that was in trouble, she figured the tears came from Sayo.

"Oh man, I hope she's okay…" Kumiko mumbled to herself upon her realization.

* * *

As soon as Saya and Sayo arrived at Sayo's house, Sayo immediately passed out as soon as she hit her pillow. Saya sighed at the sight of her cousin. She felt bad for her in a way.

Sayo's mother came up with a cup of tea for Saya. She knocked on the door before entering slowly.

"Oh, thank you Aunt Mayumi." Saya nodded her head as she accepted the cup.

"Not a problem, sweetie." the older woman smiled kindly. She looked over at her daughter with concern. "What exactly happened to make her so tired?" she asked Saya, not taking her eyes off her daughter.

"Well…" Saya thought of how exactly to put it. She sighed before saying anything. "Sayo saw someone precious to her almost die earlier tonight…"

Mayumi gasped and turned to Saya with a look of shock. "Who was it, if you don't mind me asking."

Saya shook her head. "He's a friend of ours."

"He?"

Saya nodded her head. "He's the one she visited earlier this month."

"I see…" Mayumi nodded her head in understanding. "What's his name?"

"His name is Odagiri Ryu and he goes to Kurogin High School across the street." Saya answered, knowing that the next question would have been about the school he attended.

Mayumi's only response to the answer was a nod. She looked back at her daughter. There was a pause of silence before Mayumi inquired of one more thing from her niece. "Does Sayo…" she started hesitantly. She knew it was none of her business, but she needed to know.

Saya looked up at her aunt curiously.

"Does Sayo like him?"

Saya was a little shocked to hear that question come out of her aunt's mouth. She knew that it was safe to answer though, since Sayo was sound asleep. Nothing could wake her up now. "Well…" Saya chuckled a little, looking over at her cousin sincerely. "She may not realize it herself, but she really does like him a lot."

Mayumi nodded in understanding. There was another pause of silence. "Well, you should probably get to bed as well, Saya-chan. You two have to get up early in order to get to Takeshi-kun's studio on time for your photo shoot." And with that, Mayumi left the room silently.

Saya sighed and finished her tea. "What am I gonna do with you?" she mumbled, looking at Sayo's sleeping form once more.

Saya changed into the pajamas that she brought with her and crawled into bed beside Sayo. "Oyasumi." she whispered.

Tomorrow, hopefully, would be better than today was.

_To be continued…_


	15. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Finally, Graduation!**

Saya groaned as she sat up in the bed next to her cousin. Her eyebrows were furrowed and eyes squinting. She looked like a beast of the night with her bed head. She took a few seconds before turning to look at the source of her awakening from her peaceful slumber. However, her expression changed from slight anger to shock when her eyes landed on Sayo's sleeping form next to her.

"Ryu…" Sayo mumbled. A few tears slid slowly down her nose, and gently fell onto the pillow beneath her head.

"Is she…" Saya mumbled, leaning in a little closer to Sayo's face. "crying?"

Yes. Sayo was crying in her sleep. Apparently the earlier events of the day had caused a little bit of extended emotional side effects. Saya sat quietly as she sat back up, listening to her cousin. Saya sighed, knowing she couldn't really do anything to help the other girl. So she decided to go back to sleep.

* * *

That morning, Saya woke up first. She sat up in the bed, stretched her arms up above her head with a wide yawn, and swung her legs over the side. She lightly pushed herself off the bed so she didn't disturb Sayo. On her way to the washroom, she grabbed her bag of clothes and took it with her.

After Saya got out of the washroom, a nice hot shower later, she re-entered the bedroom to find Sayo stretching in bed. Sayo slowly turned her sleepy head over towards Saya in a silent greeting. Saya smiled warmly at her tired cousin, knowing that she probably had a hard time sleeping.

"Morning."

"What time is it?" came Sayo's tired drawl as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and swung her legs over the side of her bed.

"We have about fifteen minutes to be ready and out the door before we're late." Saya answered while putting her dirty clothes into her bag.

Sayo didn't say another word. She bolted out of the bed into the washroom. Saya looked at the door with surprise, but quickly shook her head with a smile. She decided to make her cousin's life easier and put her clothes right by the door.

Even though they only had fifteen minutes before they were late, the two were perfectly fine. The studio wasn't that far from Sayo's house. Plus, they didn't have to eat before they got there because Takeshi was providing breakfast. So the two girls were just fine. They didn't even have to fix their hair themselves since the make-up crew was to be present as well. This was practically already in the bag.

While waiting for Sayo to return from her shower, Saya decided to email the other girls, telling them not to worry about hair, make-up, or breakfast. Also, she left a small warning at the bottom, informing them that Takeshi hates it when someone, anyone, is late.

Not long after, Sayo emerged from the washroom, fully clothed.

"You ready?" Saya smirked, side glancing at the other girl.

Sayo only nodded in reply. She was still quite tired, even though the shower woke her up a bit.

"All right then, let's head out." Saya opened the bedroom door, and proceeded down the stairs into the hallway between the front door and the living room.

Mayumi was in the kitchen making tea for herself and her husband. When she heard the footsteps on the stairs, she knew immediately that it was the girls. Curious, she peeked out the doorway to see what the two had bought the previous day. She was always intrigued by her daughter and niece's fashion sense. The clothes always seemed to fit the two girls perfectly. Once Mayumi saw them, she smiled broadly with a hint suspicious speculation in her eyes.

"You're not wearing that to the ceremony, are you?"

"Of course not, mom," Sayo answered in a 'duh' sort of way, "we're changing into our uniforms after we get to the school before the ceremony starts."

"Oh, I see…" Mayumi nodded slowly, still eyeing the two. "Well, have fun with Takeshi-kun." she then smiled and made her way back toward the boiling water on the stove.

"See you at the ceremony, mom!" Sayo called back as they exited the house. Next stop: Takeshi's studio.

* * *

The girls all arrived one after the other, grabbed a small something from the buffet at the studio, and were immediately drug back to the dressing room area for hair and make up.

"How are you girls this morning?" Miku asked, smiling brightly as she walked into the area.

"Good." Saya and Sayo answered simultaneously, trying not to move their heads.

"Well, that's good," Miku looked from the two to the other four, "how about you girls?"

"Peachy…" Mitsu answered blandly. She didn't really like the stillness she had to attempt to keep at all times.

Miku chuckled at the response and waited for the other three to say something.

"Better than I thought I would…" Kiri admitted, trying her best to keep her head straight.

"Yeah." Maki and Juri both agreed.

"Well, I'm very glad you girls are all right." Miku smiled again. Takeshi called her name and she told the girls she'd be around if they needed her. Then she hurried over to him to see what he needed.

Saya and Sayo were done first, so they went back to the buffet to get a little more food in their stomachs before the shoot started. Both girls, unsurprisingly to the others, grabbed a plate of only fruit.

"So Takeshi-kun," Saya started casually, popping a square of cantaloupe in her mouth. "who goes first?"

Sayo turned her attention to the conversation and didn't say anything. Sayo knew very well that Takeshi always had a plan for his photo shoots, and usually didn't let anyone know of them until right before the start. She ate a few squares of her watermelon casually, watching the others set up out of the corner of her eye. Miku was instructing them of where to put everything. Miku was usually the one person who knew everything before hand.

Takeshi thought for a moment, debating whether to tell Saya or not. He decided to slip out of the topic casually. "Well, you should know how this goes…"

"Right…" Saya sighed, knowing this would be the outcome and didn't plan to fight to know. She'd done that once before and almost got in big trouble.

Sayo shook her head at her cousins. She knew both well and the part of their personalities that hated losing. Sayo finished her fruit and tossed the paper plate in the trash bin.

Miku turned on the radio to help everyone relax. It worked. Everyone, even Takeshi, began to nod to the beat as they worked.

Juri was finally finished, so she came out by Saya and Sayo to get a little more food. She grabbed a bagel, which was enough for her, and joined the two girls in a little dancing.

The other three followed the same pattern. By the time they were all done eating, the other four challenged Saya and Sayo to dance in front of everyone there. They weren't expecting the two to agree outright.

_Evolution_ by Ayumi Hamasaki blared through the radio speakers and they danced their hearts out. Sayo was even singing along with the song lightly. The girls barely noticed it though. All of the crew members stopped what they were doing to watch the two, even Takeshi and Miku. When the song was over, the two stopped dancing to catch their breath. Luckily, they didn't screw up their makeup or Takeshi would've had a field day. Everyone in the studio applauded the two, then quickly began to work again.

Not long after the performance, the set was ready to go. Takeshi gathered the girls together, to brief them on what exactly was going to happen.

"Alright, listen up," he started, the rest all quiet, "We're gonna start with Kitano-san."

The girls all nodded silently, signaling him to continue with his instructions.

"The first shoot will be full body poses, the second will be bust photos," Takeshi listed, thinking to himself in the process, "and the third will take place after the ceremony is over. You'll hold your diploma up with pride, and that is the one I will make as many copies you need for your relatives to have."

"Oh, so we have to keep our make up on during the ceremony?" Mitsu asked, making sure before she removed it before the ceremony started later on.

"Yes, keep it on so we don't have to waste more time on a second job."

The girls all nodded, assuring him that they understood.

"All right, if there aren't anymore questions, let's get started," Takeshi began to turn around, "after all, we only have until about 11:30 before you girls have to leave."

Takeshi grabbed his camera as Juri made her way to the set. The other girls, and Miku, sat on a couch placed behind Takeshi, but angled enough so they could see Juri fully too.

Juri, being her timid and sweet self, chose a rather suitable, yet wild, outfit for herself. Her top was a long white tank top with a black lace pattern on the back half of it. A black lace mini skirt wa her choice of bottoms, which was the wild part of the outfit. Two bangles hung loosely on her right wrist, and a tight gold bracelet on the left one. Her shoes were peach colored wedge heels. Her hair was done up in pigtails, as usual, but had peach colored ribbons tied over the hair bands, and her make up was natural with her lips a slightly darker shade of peach. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=JuriGradOutfit .jpg )

Juri did seven standing poses. Most were cute, mainly because that's the vibe she gives off. Then, the crew brought in a pedestal for Juri to kneel on for the bust shots. Takeshi had only three bust shots taken. Some of the pictures were goofy, some were more sensible than others. But that was all part of the plan. Takeshi wanted to make the photo shoot memorable for the girls, so he had them do fun pictures too. He planned for the girls to do pair photos, and group photos as well as individuals.

"Okay, Kitano-san, stay right there," Takeshi instructed, then looked over his shoulders back at the rest of the girls. "Mizushima-san, please join Kitano-san for a moment."

"Hai," Maki nodded, standing from her place on the couch and joining Juri in front of the camera.

"Okay, we're going to take a few photos of just the two of you." Takeshi informed the two before placing his head behind the camera again.

The two nodded in understanding and posed for the first photo. They took three more, having fun the whole time. Juri and Maki were smiling, laughing, and hugging each other for their poses. Takeshi stood upright, signaling that they were finished with the small bit they were doing.

"Okay, Kitano-san, you can have a seat now." Takeshi smiled kindly at the shy girl as she timidly walked toward the back of the room. "All right, Mizushima-san, full body photos first." Takeshi reminded Maki, who was now looking a little embarrassed and feeling shy under the lights burning on her body.

Maki chose to be a bit more mature and bought something you would see an OL (office lady) wearing, or possibly someone attending an interview for work. She wore a dark pink blouse with quarter length sleeves, and a ruffled collar of a lighter pink color with a bow tied in the middle of the collar. A black tiered skirt with a bow fit perfectly, and went well with the dark pink colored shirt. On her right wrist dangled two medium sized silver bangles, and her feet were covered with black peep-toe pump heels. Her hair was straightened slightly, since her hair is mostly straight to begin with, and kept down by the stylists. Her make up consists of a light pink eye shadow, light eyeliner, light mascara, natural blush, and light pink lipstick. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=MakiGradOutfit .jpg )

Maki also did seven standing poses. After the lights dimmed in the back of the room, she felt a little more comfortable with her surroundings, and was able to do some pretty decent poses. She tried her best to convey an air of maturity in her photos. The crew came by after the flash went off on the seventh photo, and brought the pedestal in front of her. Maki smiled prettily at the camera for her three bust shots, only one was allowed to be a silly face. Takeshi stood upright again, stretching his back and arms in the process. Standing in front of a camera bent over was bad on your back.

The lights brightened a little so the girls could see in front of them. Takeshi looked back at the girls again, like before, and examined them for a minute. He pondered on which girl he wanted to do next.

"Jinnai-san," Takeshi started, finally coming to a decision in his head. "Come join Mizushima-san please."

"Sure thing." Kiri smiled and did as she was told. She smiled widely at Maki as they stood next to each other.

"Just like before, it's just the two of you." Takeshi explained briefly before bending over to look through the camera again.

"All right." the two nodded their heads and posed together.

Only one of their photos were somewhat professional looking. The other two were just totally comical. The two girls were usually okay when paired together. However, given that their attire contrasted drastically, they took advantage of the situation. Maki acted snooty and made mature facial expression. Kiri acted childish, which wasn't very hard for her, and made silly faces that mocked Maki.

Takeshi chuckled a bit after he stood upright again. "All right, Mizushima-san, you can have a seat."

Maki nodded politely, with a smile still on her face, and returned to her previous spot on the couch.

Takeshi turned back to the girls for a second. "Kitano-san, please join Jinnai-san for a moment."

Juri nodded politely and joined Kiri in the spotlight. She felt a little nervous. Although, she knew it was only for three shots, she didn't know how to pose with Kiri. Eh, whatever comes naturally will be just fine.

The two girls stood next to each other awkwardly for a moment before Kiri slung her arm around Juri's shoulder. Kiri flashed the other a toothy smile, reassuring her that they would be alright. Takeshi snapped a photo of that particular moment, since it was actually a really good moment to capture. The two girls stared at him in shock. That was unexpected. The other two photos were planned by the two girls.

Juri sat back down on the couch in the back without Takeshi telling her to, since she knew he didn't need her to be up there anymore.

Kiri stood proudly in the middle of the set, hands on her hips, and a cocky smile to boot. Her attire made her look like a youthful and fun-loving young adult. She wore a black and white horizontal striped tank top under a black boat neck shirt with three-quarter length sleeves. The tank top peeped out from under the boat neck. A white lace mini skirt covered her upper portion of her legs. Her only accessory was a medium sized white bangle on her left wrist. Her feet and calves were covered effectively by her beige-brown cowgirl boots that reached below her knee. The stylists left her hair in the usual ponytail, but added a few light curls to the ponytail. A light gold eye shadow was adorning her eyelids, a soft golden hue brushed on her cheeks, and a glossy gold layer painted on her lips. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=KiriGradOutfit .jpg )

Poor Takeshi, he had to actually scold Kiri in order to get her to pose sensibly for a full body photo. Honestly, both felt a bit exhausted. Although, Takeshi had the right to be. After her seven full body photos were taken, all but one completely comical, the crew brought the pedestal back. Kiri smartly made nice and content facial expressions for the bust photos, which relieved Takeshi greatly.

Takeshi then started the pair photos again. This time, he asked Mitsu to join Kiri. A killer pair, he was going to regret this.

The two girls acted as they usually did together: completely wild. Takeshi was glad then that they were only taking three photos of pairs. After that, Kiri wa told to sit back down, and Maki was called up to follow suit. Then Juri was asked to Join Mitsu as well.

Finally, Mitsu was eager to get to her own photos. She loved her outfit, personally. She knew it was completely vain of her, but she found herself to be absolutely adorable in the outfit. A navy blue quarter length sleeved shirt was her top. Paired with the dark blue was a white lace mini skirt with a sheer bottom layer. The final spice in the recipe was her white peep-toe pumps with wooden souls. The stylists added a light wave to the tips of her pin straight hair and left it down. A shade of pale blue coated her eyelids with a slight shimmer, a natural shade was added to her cheeks, and a medium shade of pink was painted on her lips. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=MitsuGradOutfit .jpg )

The process started over again. Seven full body photos later, the pedestal was in front of Mitsu, and she kneeled on it in preparation for her three bust shots. She figured she shouldn't give Takeshi a hard time since he was doing all of this work for free. So she cooperated with all his commands without back talking. Soon enough, they were back to doing the pair photos.

Saya was next on the list. As she joined Mitsu, the two exchanged knowing glances. They knew what they were going to do for their poses. And, since it was Saya, Takeshi didn't really mind silly antics. It reminded him of his high school days.

Afterwards, Mitsu sat down on the couch, swapping places with Juri. Their three photos were taken, then Juri swapped places on the couch with Maki. And the pattern continued with Kiri. Since Kiri was her final partner, Saya decided to become serious about this, thinking of it as a job. After all, they didn't have too much time left until they had to be at the school.

Saya was a mix of class and street smarts. A beautiful black halter with ruffles around the collar and down the middle front covered her torso. She had a black tube top underneath the halter that showed when she turned around. Her distressed denim mini skirt with red zipper detail on the pockets added the hint of street smarts to the outfit. And her beautiful orange-brown studded strap sandals with studded wooden wedge souls amplified the effect of the skirt. She accented the outfit herself with a black fedora that was adorned with a black and white slant striped band around it. The stylists left her hair down, and didn't do anything to it. Her make up was just right with the outfit. A medium shade of grey coated her eyelids, red eyeliner was used to accent the zipper detail, a natural tone was used for her blush, and a glossy single layer of a dark red lipstick was painted across her lips. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=SayaGradOutfit .jpg )

Saya proceeded to act professionally, only making three of her photos comical for timely purposes. The crew hurriedly brought the pedestal back to its spot in front of her. She kneeled quickly into position, and posed immediately after she was comfortable. Her photo session didn't last entirely too long. She had practiced and planned what she had wanted to do for her poses beforehand.

Sayo was asked to join her cousin for their pair photos. Sayo made her way swiftly to Saya's side. The two suddenly looked different to the other girls. They looked like a scene fresh out of a magazine. The two girls posed quickly, since they knew what they wanted to do. Takeshi wasn't surprised. He figured those two would go by quicker than the other four, as they were used to this more than the others.

The pairs process repeated as before, starting with Juri joining Sayo first. After all the pair photos were taken, Takeshi focused on shooting Sayo's full body shots. She posed almost naturally. It was something she, out of all the girls in the group, did the most without even knowing it. She was naturally photogenic.

The girls studied Sayo's outfit as quickly as they could, since all the light focused on the set highlighted practically everything. Her top garments were quite simple. A white tank top with a black patterned sheer lace sleeveless jacket over it. A washed and distressed denim mini skirt, ripped and fraying detail to boot, stood out among all of their skirts. She also had on orange-brown strap sandals, though hers weren't studded like Saya's, with wooden wedge souls. She accessorized with two bangles on her right forearm, one black, the other gold, and four various sized bangles/bracelets of gold, silver, and black, on her left forearm. Her hair was untouched by foreign hands, completely natural. Her make up was mostly natural shades. Her lips had a clear gloss painted on them, and a thick line of black eyeliner was drawn on her eyes. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action=view & current=SayoGradOutfit .jpg )

After Sayo's seven full body photos and three bust shots were taken, the rest of the girls got to do their pairs with Sayo. Most of Sayo's poses were mature, some with a hint of sex appeal, and others with fun expressions. Throughout all the pair photos, Sayo had a different expression with each girl. Warmth toward Juri, mutual smiles with Maki, wild smiles with Kiri, and mischievous faces with Mitsu.

When all the pair photos were done, the girls all stood together for six different group photos. Six because that's how many girls there were. Each photo had a different girl in the spotlight, all the other girls hanging on the middle girls' shoulders affectionately.

"All right, we're done." Takeshi declared, standing upright as the lights were all flipped on by the crew members. "Don't forget to come back here after the ceremony for the final photos."

The girls all nodded in understanding as they bade goodbyes and headed out the door, toward the school.

"Aren't you going to the ceremony?" Miku asked Takeshi. She had kept quiet throughout the whole entire session, since she wasn't needed by the girls.

"Yeah," Takeshi answered, smirking. "But they don't have to know that."

"You can be really cunning sometimes, you know that?"

"Yeah, I picked it up from Shin." Takeshi smirked, feeling the desire to reminisce about his high school career once again. That's right, he'd be able to see Yankumi again today.

* * *

While the girls were at their photo shoot session with Takeshi, the guys were busy refusing to enter the ceremony without Yankumi present. While the girls were having a good time outside of school, the guys were facing a hardship. Apparently, yesterday Yankumi resigned so the guys could graduate and fulfill her dream. Earlier they all walked into the faculty office and confronted Superintendent Kurokawa. They were currently living up to their threat. If Superintendent Kurokawa didn't revoke Yankumi's resignation and expel them, they wouldn't attend the ceremony.

So they were sitting, waiting for the answer in the classroom, as they said they would. They sat quietly, which was a first for that room except for when its empty. Sawatari called Yankumi and informed her of the situation with her class. Naturally, she ran to the school without hesitance. She burst through the classroom door, ready to scold them about what they were doing.

"What are you guys doing!" she yelled, walking across the front of the room. She was without her pigtails, tracksuit, and glasses, which was a first for actually being in school.

"Yankumi!" they all called, after she finished.

"Hurry up and go to the gym!"

"There's no point…" Hayato yelled from the back of the classroom after hearing her words. "of a graduation ceremony without you being there."

"Don't joke around!"

"We're being serious!" Ryu retorted, yelling like Hayato. Honestly, the situation was too frustrating for them not to yell. He calmed down after a small silence fell over the room. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have come to school…" he told her solemnly, leaving about the part about meeting Sayo and the girls.

"Me too," Tsuchi kept the line of confession going, "I would've been expelled a long time ago."

"I might have become a criminal's accomplice." Hyuga added.

"I probably would've stayed a coward…" Take rounded their group off.

"I started thinking school was fun thanks to you." another student confessed.

"Me too!" the others agreed instantly.

"It's because of you that we've come so far."

"So we want you," Hayato finished off for the whole class, "to see us graduate."

"We worked so hard just for that." Tsuchi added.

"A diploma in exchange for your resignation…" Hyuga continued, "doesn't mean a thing!"

"We're better off expelled!" Take put in strongly.

"That's right!" the others agreed.

Yankumi could only watch. She couldn't believe the words that were coming from her students' hearts.

"We're the ones who caused the problem," Ryu reasoned, "isn't it our duty to take responsibility?"

"Don't talk as if you understand!" she yelled, irritated yet touched by her students' words. "Did you guys attend school all by yourself? Didn't your parents pay for it by working hard?" she asked.

They said nothing, letting her speak her peace.

"Are you going to put it to waste?" a slight pause went by before she continued with her speech. "Do you know how your parents supported you through your high school life?"

They all sat there, thinking for a moment about what she was saying. Yes, their parents had a lot to do with them being there right now. Yes, in some ways, they were all thankful to their parents for putting them through high school.

Of course, by this time, the ceremony was already under way. Yankumi was trying her hardest to get them to get up the courage and will power to walk into the gym and graduate proudly, with or without her.

"Listen," she started after a long paused of silence, "graduation has a bigger meaning in life than you think. That's why we have graduation ceremonies."

Yankumi made her way towards the back of the classroom through the middle of all the desks. None of her former students looked at her, but either at their desks or the chalk board behind her.

She turned around, standing directly at the center of the classroom. "The graduation ceremony might be boring for you," she continued to explain, "But it's a ceremony to thank your parents for what they've done for you."

They all knew that was the reason. But still, they wanted her to be there to see them graduate too. After all, she helped them the most out of their whole lives so far. Of course, they couldn't say that to her right now, she'd get really angry at them for interrupting her.

"It's a ceremony in which your fathers and mothers," she continued passionately, her students in the back of the room watching her, "can be proud of their work in raising you." And as she let out these final three words, she turned to the main five students of her class and asked them, "Do you understand?"

"Yes." Hayato sighed for all of them. "But…"

Ryu took over after Hayato sighed a second time. "Yankumi… You went so far as to be fired for us." he shook his head, not quite understanding her reasoning inside her head.

"You still don't understand." she grumbled again, "Your graduation is worth me getting fired." she told them proudly.

They didn't look at her. "To think that it's okay for me to be fired for you guys," she continued, "there's no greater happiness than this."

They didn't quite get here reasoning…

"That's why, I want you guys to graduate feeling proud of yourselves." she finished.

Finally, understanding how his teacher felt, Hayato stood, ready to make the final move in this conversation. "Let's go." he told them.

Yankumi turned around as Ryu was standing to join his best friend. "Feeling proud of ourselves," he started, bumping his fist to his heart three times, "Let's get our diplomas together."

"Yabuki…" Yankumi was stunned, "Odagiri…"

With that, every one in the classroom stood up from their seats and put on their school jackets in order to look somewhat dressed for the occasion.

"You guys…" Yankumi muttered, amazed by all of her student's unity.

So, afraid of missing the whole ceremony, all of the class, including Yankumi, ran to the gymnasium in order to get there on time.

Surprisingly enough for them, the ceremony wasn't quite over when they got there. In fact, Sawatari was just about to announce that the ceremony was over. However, Yankumi wouldn't have that.

"Please wait." she called, as the doors burst open in the back. Everyone in the room looked back to see what the disturbance was. The guys all filed in after their teacher.

"What do you want now?" Superintendent Kurokawa asked from his place on the stage. "You have already resigned from our school."

"I apologize. Please let the student attend." Yankumi pleaded.

A heavy murmur fell over the audience as they turned toward the from of the gym again in speculation of the Superintendent's reaction to such a plea.

"What is she thinking?" Inuzaka-sensei whined, to no one in particular.

"This is no place for you to be…!" the Superintendent yelled.

Sawatari grabbed Kurokawa by the arm he was pointing at Yankumi aggressively and stopped him from saying anything he would later regret.

"Don't you think it's better to listen to her here?" Sawatari reasoned, a safe distance away from the microphone placed near them so the audience wouldn't them, naturally.

Kurokawa, realizing that Sawatari was right, finally settled himself forcefully in order to keep away from bad press. The school had so much of it as it was already.

The murmur in the room returned, as heads swiveled from the front to the back of the gym. They had never seen Kurokawa act in such a way before. It was shocking.

"Hurry up and take your seats." Kurokawa said in a gruff, restrained voice.

"Thank you very much!" Yankumi answered, then turned to her students. "Understand? Do it properly. Stand tall." she instructed them, for one last time. "Hurry."

They all nodded their heads and lined up in the proper order to take their seats. A large silence filed the room as they all sat down quietly. Sawatari watched them until they were fully seated and ready to go.

"Class 3-D. 27 students." He called, in a loud, booming voice.

"Yes." They all stood as they answered, waiting for the words to come out of Sawatari's mouth.

"Representative Yabuki Hayato." the Vice Principal's loud voice boomed through the speakers in the gym again.

Hayato grabbed his collar for a brief moment, preparing himself for the duty he had to his classmates. "Yes." he answered, then properly made his way to the stage.

He stood in front of Kurokawa, and bowed politely to the Superintendent for the first, and last, time.

"Congratulations on graduating." Kurokawa's voice was still gruff and restrained as he said the words he hadn't wanted to say to Hayato. Kurokawa presented Hayato with the certification of graduation written on it.

Hayato accepted it properly, with a bow of his head to boot. Once he stepped back from the podium which separated him and the Superintendent, he bowed fully to show his appreciation. A thunder of clapping hands resounded in the room.

Without getting out of line, Hayato kept his composure and walked back to his seat just the way he had left it.

"This concludes the presentation of the diplomas." Sawatari announced.

After that announcement, Yankumi felt it was time to leave her students. She had seen them graduate, as they had wished for. Now, it was time to go. Sawatari, however, had a different idea.

"Continuing on…" he announced some more, since that was his job, "I would like to request the retired teacher for a speech."

Yes, he was going to give her a chance, just like at the Shirokin graduation ceremony. She was shocked then, too.

"Yamaguchi-sensei." he finished, just as she opened the door to leave, tactfully trying to ignore his announcement.

However, when she heard her name, and the heads in the room began to turn her way, she turned around to make sure she was hearing right. Her class, still standing, turned to the back as well.

"Was that on the program?" Kameyama-sensei asked the other teachers around him curiously.

"No, it wasn't." Inomata-sensei answered, equally curious about the turn of events, as well as Sawatari's change of heart.

"What is he saying?" Kurokawa mumbled to himself.

"Yamaguchi-sensei!" Sawatari repeated himself, showing his impatience just a little.

Yankumi took that as a demand, gathered herself, and made her way up to the stage. Kurokawa had moved aside by the time she got to the podium. Once she stood behind the podium, her class sat down to acknowledge her that she had their full attention.

Her speech was long and emotional. She began by apologizing for the commotion her and the class had made during the ceremony. She touched on how her students started out when she began teaching, and how much of a turn around they had made throughout their three months together. The whole thing was full of her emotions. She showed how proud and happy she was for her students. She left them with a message at the end of her speech.

"Listen guys," she began softly, "those diplomas you're holding right now, don't think that it's just a piece of paper."

The guys slowly began to start crying, little by little. It was such an emotional thing for them.

"It carries the weight of the three years you spent here." she told them. "Maybe you didn't do that well academically, but you guys have learned how to protect…" she paused to attempt to keep herself from choking up with tears. "How to protect what's important to you by gritting your teeth."

More of her students began to cry because of her words.

"You've learned not to give up." she continued, "You've learned not to run away. Believing in yourself, believing in your friends, always living proudly."

The tear flow increased once again as she paused for a slight second.

"I want you to live, remembering what you have learned in these three years." she breathed in for her final statement. "And one final thing…" she started, looking at her students sincerely. "What lies ahead of you, might be sad and harsh times. When you can't get through them alone, remember that you have friends." she smiled broadly a them, tears threatening to fall. "And that you have me. I will always be on your side."

Yankumi turned away from her weeping students to face the audience for her finale. "I was here for a short time, but I am proud of having been their homeroom teacher." she smiled proudly to all the parents in the gym. "Thank you very much."

With that final thank you, she bowed to them all. To everyone's surprise, all of class 3-D stood. Hayato, the leader and representative of the class, led them all to do so, but it was a mutual feeling amongst them all. They stood proudly, tears in their eyes, and running down their cheeks, due to the emotion they felt from Yankumi's speech.

They all turned to every section of the audience and thanked them for their time at Kurogin. Yankumi was just as surprised as everyone else in the room. The change they exhibited was truly apparent from the first time she had met them.

They finally turned to her. Hayato, in a very choked up voice, let out the start "Thank you very much!" he practically yelled it out.

The rest echoed the words in an equally choked up voice as one. All of them bowed sincerely to her, as they had to the rest of the audience, but this time it was more heartfelt.

Yankumi was so touched, she finally let her tears fall proudly. Sawatari was the first to start off the clapping for them all. The trend soon erupted throughout the gym as the touched teachers, students, and parents began to clap as well.

"I never thought 3-D's students would make me feel so sentimental." Wanibuchi-sensei commented as she clapped, standing next to Shiratori-sensei.

"Everyone is congratulating the students of 3-D." Baba-sensei agreed while clapping.

"That's because they're so good!" Shiratori-sensei agreed as well, clapping like the rest of them.

Kurokawa couldn't bring himself to accept this outcome, so he stormed off the stage before he said something again.

And so, now that we are caught up to the present events, the whole of class 3-D, fully graduated, with Yankumi in front, walked out of the front gates of Kurogin happily.

Before they could make it too far from the school, however, a larger than normal taxi cab pulled up in front of Momogaoka. The class stopped abruptly to look on at what was going on. Who knew, maybe the taxi was for a guest of the ceremony. After all, the girls' ceremony was today too.

"Who could that be?" Yankumi mumbled in question, not that any of her students knew the answer mind you.

They all shrugged, but kept watching for signs of movement from the vehicle.

A few seconds went by, and then they heard the door open. Music escaped the vehicle in small increments, as well as sounds of laughter and female conversation. The guys had a certain gut feeling that they knew who it was in the car.

Confirming that feeling, Juri was the first to hop out of the open door. "Come on," she giggled, looking back into the rear of the vehicle, "we still have to change into our uniforms before the ceremony starts."

"Yeah, Juri's right." Maki agreed, chuckling a little as she got out right after the other. They were wearing clothes that made the guys' mouths drop in shock.

Maki and Juri took a few steps toward the school before another of the group exited the vehicle.

"Alright, alright!" Kiri moaned, her voice not sounding irritated or unhappy, but playful, "I'm going, yeesh…"

"Hurry up," Mitsu complained to Kiri, "you're gonna make us all late because you're walking too slow!"

"Whatever!" Kiri sang, still sounding playful, making her way toward the school behind Maki and Juri.

Mitsu pulled herself out of the car and kicked Kiri on her butt softly as a warning.

"Hey!"

"Move it then!" Mitsu shot back.

The guys couldn't say anything. They were too shocked at what the girls were wearing to even utter a gasp.

"Quit playing around," came another voice from inside the taxi, "it's really not a joke, we're gonna be late if you keep this up."

"Sorry." Mitsu and Kiri apologized to the owner of the voice, but kept walking toward the school.

"You ready?" Saya stood in front of the open taxi door, watching the other four make their way to the school doors.

"Yeah, let me pay him." came the faint answer from inside the backseat of the taxi. The guys could barely hear this person, since the volume of the music contrasted with the volume of the voices greatly.

"Alright, I'll go first." Saya responded to the other person, and headed toward the school as well.

A moment or so later, Sayo exited the backseat of the taxi, and stood next to the driver's door. The window was down and she was conversing with the driver.

"You're graduating today, am I right?" he asked with a smile.

"Yes, we all are." Sayo chuckled a little in reply.

"Well, congratulations then."

"Thank you very much. Please, have a safe drive back into the city." Sayo bade the driver farewell politely, and turned around to catch up to her cousin and friends. The taxi backed up and then drove off into the distance, away from the schools.

Soon after, the girls disappeared into the main building of their school, completely oblivious to the crowd that had been watching them.

"Wh-what was that?" Yankumi stuttered, still staring after the illusion of the girls she saw walking into Momogaoka.

"Obviously it was Saya-chan and the other girls," Hayato dead panned. He had quickly gotten a grip on himself after he figured out who exactly he was staring at. The moment he realized that he really liked what Saya was wearing, he was no longer star struck, nor was he incoherent.

"I know that!" Yankumi fired back, a faint redness painting her cheeks from embarrassment, "I meant, what were they wearing!"

"Skirts…" the class echoed in answer.

Yankumi felt like yelling at them and lecturing them about that kind of dress. Although, it wouldn't help because the guys liked it when the girls dressed like that. She should really want to be scolding Saya and Sayo for dressing like that in public. However, that was for another time, and they were graduating today as well. Better to not ruin their day with a lecture from an overprotective teacher.

After a few more minutes of getting over the previous scene, the guys headed to the park with Yankumi to say their final goodbyes.

* * *

The girls' ceremony was a lot less eventful than the guys', but there were a few tears shed. Mainly from all the women because the principal announced that Kujo-sensei would be transferring to Hokkaido, meaning he was leaving today after the ceremony. The girls cried too, since he was their homeroom teacher. They sure were going to miss him.

The representative of their class was a smart girl, named Kaminori Ayaka. She accepted the certificate for the class, as did all representatives. The ceremony only lasted about an hour or so, then each class went back to their classrooms to receive their real diplomas.

Kujo-sensei bade his homeroom class farewell at that time. Each student had the opportunity to go up to him personally. Then, after everyone was done, Kaminori presented him a large bouquet of roses as a sign of gratitude from the entire class.

"Kujo-sensei," Kaminori started, holding the bouquet out in front of her, "this is for you to show our gratitude for all the hard work you've put into teaching us this past year. Thank you very much." Kaminori then handed Kujo-sensei the bouquet and stepped back from him.

"Thank you very much." the class echoed.

"Girls, thank you." Kujo-sensei smiled, a sentimental emotion shining through his eyes.

Not long after that display, the other students followed Kujo-sensei to the front of the school, where the rest of the faculty and staff awaited him to say their farewells as well. Saya, Sayo and the rest of the girls stayed behind to change back into their outfits for the photo shoot. Thankfully, none of them messed up their make up or else Takeshi would have killed them.

They hopped into another large taxi and made their way to the studio again. Sayo called Takeshi while they were on their way so he and the crew would be prepared for them when they got there.

* * *

Meanwhile, the guys are walking around together again. Even though they each left Yankumi at the same time, but went separate ways, they each ended up in the same place. Café de Rovne.

Hyuga was bored, and had already put in a few job applications to a few places. Tsuchi was the same way. Take had walked around to take in the beauty of the town as an adult with a high school education. Hayato had gone back home to get a bite to eat before wandering around with nothing to do again. And Ryu had gone to check the score board at the college he applied for. It wasn't necessary, but he was feeling curious, so he checked it out anyway.

"Well, what are we gonna do now that we've graduated?" Tsuchi asked, fanning himself proudly and looking around at the names of all the shops they passed by.

"Who knows," Hyuga drawled, arms crossed behind his head while he walked on casually.

"Hey, I saw this club while I was walking around earlier," Take started, getting the others' attention at the word 'club'. Clubs meant girls in skimpy outfits, and they were all for it at that thought.

"Yeah, what's it like?" Hayato prodded, excited by the thought of short skirts and v-neck shirts with cleavage popping out of them.

"Well, I'm not sure, but I figured we could check it out tonight, if none of you are busy…" Take proposed, knowing now that they were all over the idea. Earlier, he was unsure if they were gonna go for it.

"Sure!" Hayato answered the very next second, fist shaking in excitement and anticipation.

"Girls…" Hyuga mumbled to himself in a kind of creepy way. As if he were possessed or something.

"Hot girls…" Tsuchi began to fantasize, all the while fanning himself.

Ryu sighed, he figured they were bound to drag him into this anyway. Besides, he thought of it more as a way to relax before he got into more stressful matters. Like, oh let's say, more school.

"Oh, okay," Take smiled, "I wasn't exactly sure if you'd be up for it."

"Are you kidding me!" Tsuchi and Hyuga jumped forward, being rudely snapped out of their wonderful dreamlands. "Us? Not wanting to go see hot girls!"

"That's a sin of nature." Hayato nodded his head in agreement with the other two girl crazed goofballs.

"Okay, okay," Take began to sweat a little from all the heat coming from the mouths of the other two, "I get it…"

"By the way, Take-chan," Hayato cut in.

"Hm?" Take gladly turned his attention to Hayato and away from flaming mouths.

"What's the name of this club?"

"Oh, it's called the Dream Star Club," Take answered cheerfully, "apparently there's a really good DJ there."

"Hmm…." Hayato nodded his head.

After Hyuga and Tsuchi calmed down from their little feud, the guys continued to wander.

* * *

The girls planned to meet at the club for their graduation party later that night. They wanted to have time in between the ceremony and the party to relax and figure out what to wear. Their rendezvous point was the shrine by the school. They figured that way, nobody would get lost. The time at which they were to meet was six on the dot. The plan was to make it right when the club opened it's doors to the public.

Sayo was the only one who hadn't gone home straight away. She stayed at the studio while the crew cleaned up and talked with Miku about her relationship with Takeshi.

According to Miku, everything was going just fine. Not that Takeshi was showing signs of wanting to move further yet. However, Miku was trying her best to remain calm and wait for him to make a move on his own, without her begging him to. Sayo encouraged her to keep it up, and not get too worried about it. Takeshi was, after all, a little, how should we say, not the best at being in a relationship.

Saya had gone home to get a bite to eat and relax a bit with her mom. Ayumi had gotten the rest of the day off. So they sat together at home, played some cards, lounged on the couch and watched the television. Ayumi talked to Saya about her current plans. Saya told her mother about her applications to a few select colleges she had already made, and which ones she passed the entrance exam to. Naturally, she also told her mother of the one she wished to attend.

Mitsu went home to relax while her parents were working. She had the house to herself, so she figured she'd lounge and do whatever came to mind.

Kiri's parents were also working, so she was home alone as well. She was going through her entire wardrobe in order to find something appropriate to wear to the club. Of course, going through her entire wardrobe meant it was going to take a really long time…

Maki went off to the Zest Cantina to get in some more overtime. More overtime meant more money. And more money meant getting through college debt free. She was allowed to work three hours of overtime before her boss told her she was done for the day. Seeing the time, she realized it was about time to be heading home to get ready for the party anyway.

And Juri went home to spend time preparing dinner for her sister before she left and their parents got home from work. Luckily, the timing was just right, since both of Juri's parents would be home before she had to leave for the party. She was happy to spend the time with her younger sibling nonetheless.

So, at six o' clock, on the dot, each showed up at Tetsu and Minoru's takoyaki stand by the shrine. Although the stand was closed, the girls used it as a landmark to meet up at. It worked since they all knew where it was. Once together, they all followed Saya and Sayo to the Dream Star.

"Eh~" Kiri and Mitsu breathed out as they admired the beauty of the club they stood in front of. There was a small line outside, which was rare for this particular club.

"Wow, it looks so nice." Maki commented, also admiring the building they stood in front of.

The height of the building was a bit shorter than the others around it. The color was that of a midnight blue, and a gradient of lighter, yet still dark, blues mixed in with the flat midnight blue background. Light blue stars were painted to make it seem like the night sky. The words 'Dream Star' were lit up on an electronic sign above the door. The words on the sign were white with fuchsia lights bordering the words, and lights under the white plastic. The girls were surprised Sayo had missed it the first few times she had gone by it with Saya. The doors were a dark plum color, with white lights blaring on it so the bouncer could see everyone entering the club.

"You think the outside is gorgeous?" Saya asked, smirking at her friends' expressions. The three who hadn't been there yet looked over at her and nodded. "Well, wait until you see the inside."

"Really!"

Saya only nodded her head knowingly, with a large smile to boot.

The line began to move before the girls could say anything else, and before they knew it, they were face to face with the bouncer. Sayo smirked at him, and he smirked back.

"You ladies seem to be having a good time already," he started, looking directly at their group, "what's the occasion?"

"It's our graduation party tonight." Sayo answered confidently. In a place like this, you had to be confident, or else you'd be trampled over.

"Oh, well, I hope you have a great time," the bouncer laughed a little, "another girl came in tonight saying she was celebrating her graduation as well."

Before the girls could question him, the bouncer opened the doors to the club and let them pass. Sayo led them in without falter. She wasn't going to let anything ruin this night for her or the girls.

While the girls were chatting with the bouncer, Hayato and the guys were across the street, walking towards the club to join the line. They barely caught sight of the girls' backs before the girls entered the club.

"Wow, this place looks promising." Hyuga remarked, looking around at the building.

"Nice pick, Take." Tsuchi smirked, fan in hand.

"Thanks." Take smiled like a kid.

"Hey, you see those hotties at the door!" Hyuga practically yelled, already excited by the dress code he sees before his eyes.

"Where?" Tsuchi joined him in the hunt, using his fan to reduce the light effects.

"There, talking to the bouncer," Hyuga pointed, and by now, Hayato and Take joined in too, "they look really good."

"Yeah, no kidding…" Tsuchi whistled.

"Short skirts…" Take mumbled, a blush spreading across his face rapidly.

"Open backs…" Hayato joined, a dirty expression overcoming his face, revealing his thoughts.

"…" Ryu didn't say anything, he couldn't. He could only sigh at his companions' actions. He tried to gather himself to say something to them to get them inside.

"Aw…" Hyuga whined, causing Ryu to look over at the club doors again. The girls were gone. "They went in…"

"Hey, we can get in too!" Hayato reminded them, and just like that, they were in the line, waiting to get in.

A few minutes later, they were in between two groups of girls who were scantily dressed. Nose bleeds were held in to the max. Hyuga and Tsuchi could almost not contain themselves. Luckily, the group in front of them were about to enter the doors. When the doors opened, music flooded out like water. There was little fog oozing out too. They saw light beams moving across the floor, a disco ball spinning endlessly, a large group of people, men and women, on the dance floor having fun, and a number of booths lined up against the entrance wall. A wall with archways in it separated the bar area from the dance floor, and another hallway was off in the back. They figured it was an area for VIPs and bathrooms, probably. The particular song flooding through the speakers inside was the one song Sayo sang at their goukon, though only Ryu had heard it, "Can You Keep A Secret?" by Utada Hikaru. Though, this version was a remix by DJ Tama himself.

"Ah..." Ryu felt a small bit of déjà vu, but shrugged it off quickly in order to not attract attention to himself.

"Sounds good in there," Hayato commented as they moved up in the line and stood before the bouncer, "nice energy."

"Yeah," the other three nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, whattaya expect," the bouncer questioned, startling them all, "we got the best DJ around, ya know?"

"Really?"

"Of course," the bouncer replied confidently, smacking his chest with a grin, "everyone in the business knows about DJ Tama."

"Eh," Hayato nodded his head. The bouncer waited a minute or so before he opened the doors to let the guys in.

"Well, thanks for the tip," Hayato commented on their way in.

The bouncer held his bulky arm out, blocking the doorway suddenly, and faced them with an unreadable expression on his face ,"So, why did you guys come here in the first place?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Hyuga proclaimed, motioning to their surroundings. He was trying to indicate the girls…

"Huh?" the bouncer was confused now. Apparently Hyuga's little motion was a bit too vague to get the meaning across. Even the other guys didn't quite get it.

"Well, we did graduate earlier," Take mumbled as an after thought, he hadn't thought if that as a reason though…

"Again, huh?" the bouncer chuckled a little bit, and continued when he saw the confused looks he got from them, "A lot of girls have been coming in tonight for graduation celebrations."

"Really?" Hyuga and Tsuchi perked up after hearing that. Now they were really pumped, knowing there were a lot of girls their age in there.

"Yeah, maybe I should tell the boss to make some sort of deal out of that…" the bouncer moved out of their way and let them pass as he thought about how to bring up the subject with his boss.

The guys slipped in, though it wasn't a suspicious type of entrance, and the doors shut just behind them almost immediately. The remix of "Can You Keep A Secret?" was still blasting through the speakers, and the guys took a good look around the club before moving.

The dance floor was in the middle under all the lights and the disco ball. There were about seven booths lining the entrance wall. There were fog machines on the stage creating the smoke they saw earlier. A large turntable was on the stage in front of a wide flat screen television screen. The turntable didn't take up the whole stage though. There was a standalone microphone right next to it for karaoke use. The wall they saw earlier had one more archway than they previously thought it did. The one they hadn't seen earlier was for the bathrooms. The hallway they saw earlier was indeed the VIP area. The bar was large, with a glass top, and light blue tube lights running through it for effect. A few bar tables with barstools around them were near the wall with the archways so people didn't have to go too far with their drinks and risk spilling them on the floor while drunk. There were three bartenders, and one waitress taking food orders. Two other waitresses were buzzing around the club with trays of food in hand.

The actual dance floor was wood instead of tile, like the rest of the club floors, and were nice and shiny. The color of the wood was lighter than the rest of the tile, which was a dark violet color, and stood out. The walls were a lighter hue of the same violet color the tiles were, but they had lavender clouds and stars painted near the ceiling, with hints of the navy blue that covered the outside of the club mixed in. The booths had wooden bases, and the seats had navy blue cloth coverings.

The guys got themselves together and sat down in one of the booths close to them. Even though they had looked around the whole entire club's qualities, they still had to look around more. However, this time it wasn't to check out the club, but to check out the girls in the club.

It didn't take hawk-eyed Hyuga too long to spot the girls amongst the large crowd. Well, at least two of them anyway.

"Hey, it's a couple of those girls from earlier!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his seat excitedly, and pointing over in their direction. He had spotted Kiri and Mitsu.

Oh yes, the guys enjoyed Kiri's outfit very much indeed. If Yankumi had seen this earlier, she definitely would have given her lecture, even if the girls were graduating or not. The top? A revealing black halter, tied in three spots on her back, so almost all of her back is bare, and is basically like a short version of a cooking apron with two front sections connected by three small strings. The skirt? Practically not there, since it's a light grey micro mini with circular cut outs on each side. And the heels? Beautiful silver strap heels with circular adornments to match her skirt. (Outfit Link [Shoes linked on page] : http:/ akizakura9. deviantart .com/ gallery/ #/ d20g9sd )

Mitsu, on the other hand, was quite a bit more conservative than Kiri was. She had on a top that covered everything properly. It looked like a corset with the buttons down the front in a perfect line. Her skirt was a mini skirt, instead of a micro mini, with pleats, so when she spun the skirt actually moved, and had three buttons on the front. The top and skirt were both different shades of browns. Mitsu's heels also had straps on them, but many more. A block heel, brown material, and modernly weaved straps compromised the basic detailing of her heels. (Outfit Link [Shoes linked on page] : http:/ akizakura9. deviantart .com/ gallery/ #/ d20garu )

Tsuchi let out a whistle, though it was drowned by the music, so it was kind of pointless. The guys chuckled a little, knowing how he was feeling. Ryu sighed. Guess he wasn't going to get to relax as much as he wanted to. He figured the guys would forcefully try to set him up with some random girl in here by the end of the night.

Not too much time passed before the song changed and Juri joined Kiri and Mitsu in their dancing.

"Look, another of them came out!" Hyuga exclaimed again, though not as excited as he was before.

Don't take that the wrong way, now. Juri looked great too. She's just too conservative for Hyuga, that's all. Her top also covered the essentials, but there was a twist to hers. It was a black tie-up halter, with bare shoulders, ¾ length sleeves, and the ties crossed over each other at the neck, making a diamond cut out on her chest area. Her skirt left a little more to the imagination, however, as it was a black micro mini with a diagonal zipper down the front on the right side. Her heels were simple, yet elegant and modern. Black heels with two crisscross straps around the toes, a single ankle strap, and an oval hole in the heel itself. (Outfit Link [Shoes linked on page] : http:/ akizakura9. devaintart .com/ gallery/ #/ d20g83p )

Unknowing to the guys, the other three girls were in the back in their private room ordering food and drinks for the night. They were also ordering songs to sing, after all, they had free karaoke all night long. Yahoo! So, they took advantage of everything they were offered. It wasn't too long before their food arrived.

They ate everything slowly, since most of it was junk food and snacks, as is available at all karaoke joints. It didn't take long for the girls to get out of the room and join the other three out on the dance floor. By that time, Hyuga, Tsuchi, and Take were out on the floor dancing as well. They all blended into the crowd quite well.

Hayato and Ryu remained at the booth with their drinks. Ryu was trying to relax. Hayato, on the other hand, was trying to pick out the perfect girls, for both him and Ryu. Yes, Ryu's inner feelings were right on the money. Hayato had seen this as a prime opportunity to try to get his best friend to realize his feelings about a certain creature who, Hayato hadn't known, was actually in the same club. Yeah, Hayato knew that Ryu would hate him for this, but it was for the other's own good. And, while Ryu also knew Hayato's secret, he didn't try to force him to come to grips with it. That was just the difference in their personalities.

Hayato happened to see Maki join Kiri, Juri and Mitsu on the dance floor. Ever since Hyuga had pointed out the girls, Hayato had kept an eye on them. He, nor any of the others, had figured out who exactly they were, but had that same sinking feeling that he knew them from somewhere.

Maki was in a tie-up halter v-neck with a low cut back, just like Hayato had envisioned he would see at a club. The ties for her halter were black, but the rest of the shirt was a tan-cream color. A black micro mini skirt with two zippers straight down the front on each side covered her bottom half. She was the only one with wedge heels, a bunch of straps on them, caramel in color to match her outfit. (Outfit Link [Shoes linked on page] : http:/ akizakura9 deviantart .com/ gallery/ #/ d20gc6g )

The four girls divided into two pairs and began dancing with each other. They looked like they were enjoying themselves. Hayato eyed them playfully, knowing they wouldn't return any of his looks. But it was still fun to look anyway. Ryu mostly watched DJ Tama do his job. It was quite interesting, since the man was really into it.

Hayato nearly spurted out his beverage when he saw Saya and Sayo emerge from the back hallway. Although, he didn't recognize them, so it looked more like he was too stunned for words. Which he was. He hadn't realized that pants would fit his fancy. He always thought skirts would do it just right.

Mainly, this thought ran through his head because, Saya was in pants. Long, flowing, slit pants. Seriously, the slit ran all the way up to her upper thighs. The pants were black, and the slit really took away attention from the top, which was a slightly dark red color. It almost looked like a dress. A Chinese styled neckline, zipped up in the middle front of the top, with a heart-shaped cut out, causing the zipper to split into two separate zippers. The bottom zipper only went down about half the total length of the top, so her bellybutton showed between the flowing material. Her heels were quite interesting, to say the least, as they were accentuated with a zipper on each individual strap on the shoe, and had one down the middle. The material itself was a black and looked almost like snake skin. (Outfit Link [Shoes linked on page] : http: akizakura9. deviantart .com/ gallery/ #/ d20gc6g )

Ryu was taken aback by the girl who walked out next to Saya. He, unlike the rest of the guys, was able to recognize the girls almost as soon as he saw them. So, it was no surprise to himself that he realized, quite quickly, that he was looking at Sayo.

Sayo, mind you, in black micro shorts with lace-ups on the front, practically holding the shorts together. Also, Sayo, from the backside, who looked like she was only wearing a dress that covered her to the upper thighs… The front of Sayo's top was a lot like Saya's, only, instead of a heart-shaped cut out, Sayo's was a cherry blossom petal. Another thing that separated Sayo's top from Saya's, was that Sayo's had an open back. Also, the color of Sayo's was navy blue, and the bottom zipper was longer… Her heels were a lot like Juri's, with the oval hole in the heel. Sayo's had four straps instead of two, but still had a single ankle strap, and were black. (Outfit Link [Shoes linked on page] : http:/ akizakura9. deviantart .com/ gallery/ #/ d20gdah )

Ryu tried, as hard as he could, to keep it from the guys that he knew who the girls were. He thought of it this way, if Sayo was there, the only other girls he knew she would hang out with like this outside of school, were the other five girls. However, Ryu had no idea what his companion was thinking in that criminal mind of his. He eyed Hayato carefully, studying him so as to get an inkling of information from his actions.

Things went well for about an hour before the night really got into the swing of things. Since both groups had got to the club right when it opened, things weren't really going just yet. DJ Tama was showing his talent with all the songs he played. Most were popular ones, and some others were a little off the mainstream, but still sounded great. The guys had to admit that he was good at what he did. A large amount of girls had taken advantage of the free karaoke, which made the crowd energy rise. The guys sat at their booth and criticized them while they sang.

A few girls had sang karaoke from the back; DJ Tama said they wished to remain anonymous. The guys couldn't criticize them fully, since they couldn't see them. But, they still criticized their singing. There wasn't much to criticize, though. About another hour after that, DJ Tama stopped the music for a moment to say a few things.

"Hey, everyone, how we doing tonight?" he asked into the microphone in front of him, trying to excite the crowd like he was a performer at a concert or something.

His answer was a loud roar from the crowd on the dance floor. Hoots and hollers were heard, girls threw their hands up and screamed, and guys just nodded their heads.

"That's great," DJ Tama smiled, "I have a few shout outs to make, so give me just a second and the music will be on again, alright?"

More hoots and hollers were heard as an answer. DJ Tama took this as a sign to continue with his work.

"First, I'd like to say congratulations to Ms. Kaminori Ayaka on graduating high school today," he read the small card in his hand, then shuffled to another card in the stack. "Second, from the owner, he would like to congratulate all the high school students who graduated today."

The crowd began to clap, since DJ Tama had taken a pause to change cards again. "And finally, to the wonderful group of girls who have chosen to hold their graduation party here, and have been great sports in communicating with me personally, Momogaoka Gakuen's six beautiful graduates. They graduated high school today, and are celebrating their accomplishments. They don't wish to reveal their names, but they are here tonight. So," DJ Tama took a breath, since he was being long winded, "congratulations girls!"

The crowd erupted in clapping and hoots. Apparently there were a lot of graduating students there tonight. The guys had no idea of how popular this club was. However, they were still far more interested in finding girls instead of the assets of the club.

"What's this?" DJ Tama seemed a bit quizzical when he went to start the music again. He hadn't seen it before, but there was an order for another anonymous karaoke to be played throughout the club from the girls' room. "Well, it seems we have another karaoke singer."

He said no more, and let the music flood through the speakers. The song was Nana Kitade's newest, "Kiss or Kiss". The voice of the karaoke singer came along with the music, and Ryu was shocked. Even though he had only heard her sing, Sayo's voice was unmistakable to his ears. Back in the room, the girls knew Saya had ordered the song as a broadcast, but hadn't told Sayo about it. When the latter finds out, the girls knew they did NOT want to be around for it…

"_Hora ima mitsume teru (See, even in the depths) _

_Watashi no egao no oku mo (Of the smile you're gazing at now)_

_Hontou no tokoro nante (You won't be able)_

_Sukoshi mo tsukame nai no yo" (To find the truth)_

Most people were dancing, so there wasn't much commenting on the singing quality. The guys didn't have anything to say either. Ryu was glad because he probably would have said something odd if they had said anything bad about Sayo's singing. Hayato's suspicions were already at their peak, why bring the rest to the same conclusion? Not Ryu's ideal situation.

"Wow, this one's good." Take smiled, picking his Coke up from the table to take a drink.

"Yeah, no kidding…" Hyuga nodded, watching the disco ball spin.

"_Nee kotoba dake ja kitto (Hey, surely just words alone)_

_Michi tarinai omoi ga aru kara (Won't satisfy this feeling I have)_

_Isshun mo hanasanai de (Don't let me go for a moment)_

_Motto furete kesenai hodo (Touch me more so it can't be erased)_

_Watashi dake desho (Surely I'm the only one for you)_

_Nando demo KISS or KISS" (Again, again KISS or KISS)_

"Good song choice," Hayato commented leisurely, leaning back in his seat with his drink in hand.

"Yeah," Tsuchi agreed, nodding while fanning himself. After all, there were a lot of people dancing and creating heat in the club.

"_Nee kotoba dake ja kitto (Hey, surely just words alone)_

_Tsutawaranai omoi ga aru kara (Can't describe this feeling I have)_

_Zenbu karappo ni shite (Clear everything from your mind)_

_Kochi wo mite uchi nuite yo (Look at me with your penetrating eyes)_

_Watashi dake desho (Surely I'm the only one for you)_

_Honki no mama KISS or KISS" (A real one KISS or KISS)_

And just like that, the song ended. Yet, the energy in the club seemed to drop a little. Not a noticeable amount, mind you, but nevertheless the energy level dropped. Sayo had the ability to liven the place up and she didn't even know it. Ryu had to hand it to her, though he figured she probably hadn't planned on singing tonight at all. He was sure the girls had done it without her consent. And he was right.

So, the time passed by, songs played, techno music dominated as it got later into the night, thus the songs got longer as well. Hyuga and Tsuchi had seen and gone after a few girls throughout the night. They chatted them up, got some numbers, and danced with the girls until they got tired. They usually came back to the booth to refuel with their drinks and some snacks. Take was having fun dancing in the crowd, mostly alone, but occasionally with some random girls. Maki had been one of them, even though they didn't quite pay attention nor recognize each other.

"Really now," Ryu sighed to himself when he saw the latter happening, but no reactions from either person came. "that's just crazy…"

"What's crazy?" Hayato inquired, out of breath, having just gotten back from dancing with some random girl himself. He grabbed his Coke and chugged it down.

"Well," Ryu debated within himself whether or not to tell Hayato about the girls being there. After all, he had come this far through the night without spilling the beans. He figured the girls would actually thank him for that. But then again, if he didn't say anything about it, this wouldn't be any fun, now would it? "Take was just dancing with Maki-chan and didn't even realize it." He waited for the reaction he knew was coming.

Wait for it…

It was almost like watching Hayato get startled by his phone ringing on his butt because he forgot he had placed it there. His face was priceless.

"You mean, Maki-chan as in, Momojo Maki-chan?"

Ryu only nodded his head and waited for the other to fill in the blanks himself. Oh, how fun this was indeed. Why didn't he think of this earlier?

"Then, that means," Hayato thought, slowly putting his cup back on the table, just in case he accidentally let go of it out of shock. "the others are here too?"

Ryu nodded again, and then knew telling Hayato was probably a bad idea. Take probably would have been the better one to tell. But Hayato? Not really. He had a big mouth, after all…

"You knew the whole night," Hayato started, beginning to feel a sense of disbelief, "and didn't say anything to us about it?"

"Yeah," Ryu dead panned.

"Why?"

"Because," Ryu started, pausing to take sip of his drink before he continued to add to the suspense, "I figured the girls didn't want us to know, that's why they didn't tell us."

Hayato was silent for a moment, before his face contorted sourly, "I hate your logic."

Ryu only shrugged, then watched his best friend storm off in an attempt to find the girls. Of course, it was kind of pointless, since he didn't know what they were wearing. Ryu finally got up, for the first time that night, in search of one of the girls before Hayato found one of them. If Hayato were the one to reveal them, it would end badly for sure. He would gloat and brag about how the guys realized the girls were there first, then he would try to suck up to her wrath after he observes her attire with comments on her sex appeal. Yes, it was truly better if Ryu found one of them before Hayato did.

In the other group, Sayo had just found out that the karaoke song was a broadcast, requested by her dear cousin. Oh, how Saya was going to be dead. Sayo stormed out of their private room and joined the crowd on the dance floor. She tried her hardest to forget about he whole thing, telling herself this: At least the guys weren't here to hear it. So, she stood as close as she could get to the stage to drown out her own thoughts. It didn't take too long for her get deep into her own world, and have no conscience of the guys around her trying to dance with her.

Instead of finding one of the girls, like he had intended to, Ryu ended up at the bar ordering a refill for his drink. What was a night without Hayato getting brow beaten by a girl? Not fun, that's what. It was something he was looking forward to.

When he returned to the booth, he was greeted by the other four. They had mischievous expressions playing their features. Something told Ryu that he wasn't going to enjoy this. They had freshly refilled drinks, and a plan to make Ryu dance with a girl tonight. They were determined to do it, even if he killed them for it.

"Hey, Ryu," Hayato started, playing his role as the ring leader of the group, introducing the scheme slowly, "Hyuga would like to tell you something."

Ryu scowled at Hayato lightly, then looked over at Hyuga. He knew, just knew, that he wasn't going to enjoy this at all.

"We found someone we think you should meet." Hyuga smirked devilishly.

"And?"

"She's right behind you." Tsuchi joined Hyuga, fan in hand.

Behind Ryu stood Kaminori Ayaka. She was in a green strapless dress that stopped at her mid thigh and black ankle boots. Her dark brown eyes contrasted with her milky skin, and her long brown hair was pulled into a stylish twist on the left side, topped off with a green bow. She nodded her head shyly when Ryu peered behind him to see who the guys were referring to. It was obvious she found Ryu attractive. Well, just about any girl would think he was attractive, until they found out about his odd personality, and straight forward logic.

"So?" Ryu shrugged, turning back to the guys with a look that told them, 'So what? Who cares.'.

"So, she would like to dance with you," Take smiled innocently. Ryu figured he was the one who actually pointed this girl out. Tsuchi or Hyuga were probably the ones who proposed the deal, whatever it was… And Hayato probably sealed it with some kind of promise he couldn't keep.

Ryu said nothing, just held his ground with the same expression. Ayaka stood behind him still, not knowing what was going to happen.

Hayato had told her that Ryu would dance with her if she could find a certain group of girls in the club for them. She, obviously, had to know who the group of girls she was supposed to look for was, so she hadn't accepted the proposal right away. Hayato told her secretly, smartly not letting the other three know just yet, and ended up having to point out Ryu in order to get her to agree. Once she had seen Ryu, she was all over the agreement. She judged that Ryu would be a good dance partner, and a lot of the other girls would be jealous of her. Plus, she thought he might actually fall for her if they danced together. Although, Ayaka didn't tell Hayato her thoughts. She tactfully hid them.

Hayato, using his last resort, pulled Ryu aside and told him about the deal he made with the girl. Ryu despised him at that point. Honestly, why couldn't Hayato just use his freakin' head every once in a while! If the idiot had actually made some effort to look for faces he recognized, surely he'd be able to find the girls on his own. But no, he was an idiot, and a lazy one at that. Ryu sighed, knowing he was being just as lazy, since he too had given up quickly just to see the idiot beside him fail miserably. So much for tonight being fun. Since he wanted to talk to the girls about things that had happened before graduation, he reluctantly agreed to Hayato's stupid deal with this girl.

"Okay, get going you two," Hayato cheered, knowing his true intentions were to, mainly, torture his best friend in the end. The other three cheered after the two as well.

Ryu made no true effort to actually dance with this girl, since he didn't really see the appeal that the others saw in her. Yes, she had a nice body, and milky skin. Her eyes stood out, and the way she dressed showed style and class of some sort. But those things didn't really matter to Ryu.

Ayaka, on the other hand, was all over Ryu, trying to grind with him and everything. It was kind of hard to watch, actually. The guys found themselves cringing at the sight. There was no effort from Ryu, and an overwhelming amount of effort from Ayaka.

Sayo had gotten thirsty, so she pulled herself out of her world to venture to the bar to order a refill of her peach soda. While waiting, she sat on a barstool and watched the dancing crowd out on the dance floor that she planned to jump right back into in a minute. Scanning through all the dance moves, her eyes stumbled upon Juri and some random guy, just dancing next to each other with smiles on their faces. Sayo then realized that this was a really good way to relax for them. They had needed it badly too. She kept scanning, and her eyes fell upon the DJ, who was still soundly into his job that it seemed nothing could break his trance. A few seconds later, she allowed her eyes to travel to the back of the room, by the entrance wall lined with booths, and was absolutely stunned by what she saw.

There, Ayaka and Ryu were together, dancing. It almost made her sick to her stomach. Sayo grabbed the bar edge to stop herself from falling off the barstool and causing a scene. The way Ayaka was dancing disgusted her so much, but she couldn't look away. She couldn't fathom any reason why Ryu would agree to dance with Ayaka, of all people. Sure, Ayaka seemed sweet and innocent, but she was a real gold digger. The girl had only ever gone out with guys who had money.

"Here's your peach soda." the bartender's voice flew by her ear. Sayo was so wrapped up in watching the horror in front of her that she almost didn't hear the man. She took a few moments to pry her eyes away forcefully before turning around to take a long drink of her soda.

After she set the drink back down, she sat there, thinking, trying to figure out what was going on. She just couldn't though. The thought of those two, and the scene of Ayaka's horribly forced dancing, kept flooding her mind. She felt like she was going to be sick again. Sayo took in deep breaths, trying to calm herself and think of something else. But it was no use. At that moment, she really wished Saya was with her. Saya would know exactly what to say to cheer her up. She needed it.

Ryu stopped trying, and just stood there, staring disgustedly at the girl in front of him, still trying to force herself on him through dancing. He took a step back from the girl, and looked around at the crowd. He thanked god that no one was staring at them. He was wise to stop at the back of the crowd. He looked around the whole room, except for behind him, knowing he would more than likely lose his cool if he looked at the stupid idiot who had set him up for this without his consent. That was when he saw a girl at the bar, sitting there hunched over, like she was about to be sick. It took him a few seconds to realize just who's back he was staring at. A long navy blue top, the upper back of it open. Long layered brown hair with natural highlights.

The bartender came over to the girl at the bar to ask if she was all right. Ryu only saw the girl nod her head in answer lightly. Her shoulders heaved, signaling a sigh, and she sat straight up on the barstool. The bartender watched her for a moment or so, concerned for the girl. She just reassured him with another nod of her head, more lively this time. Slowly, she turned her head to the side, and Ryu could see her facial features a little. Immediately his suspicions were confirmed. It was Sayo. At this point, he didn't care if the girl Ayaka saw him walk away from her, nor did he care if the guys watched his every move after witnessing him walk away from the dancing girl. He made his way swiftly through the crowd over to the bar to confront Sayo.

"Where's he going?" Hyuga questioned, all of them watching Ryu walk away from the still dancing girl blatantly.

The others just shrugged their shoulders, and kept watching. This would probably be interesting if Ryu was as determined as he seemed to be. Hayato hadn't seen this coming, that was for sure.

Sayo stood from the barstool, and stumbled a little, losing her ground on her unsteady feet. She almost fell, but a steady hand caught hers before her weight toppled her body over. Blushing with embarrassment, she allowed the man to help her steady herself before turning to thank him properly. But when she did turn, she was too shocked to say anything. She could only stare at him disbelievingly.

"Why…" she muttered, not sure of what she really wanted to know about. Why were you dancing with her? Why are you here? Are the other guys here too? How did you get over here so fast? Any of them would have been good for her. But, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't say any of them.

"You sure you're all right?" Ryu asked her, ignoring her muttered word. He had a sinking feeling she had seen the horrible dancing that had been forced on him just seconds ago.

"Yeah," she answered, quickly pulling her hand out of his warm, soft one. She stood as straight as she could, but still couldn't say anything to him.

It didn't take Ryu long to get sick of being around so many people, and this awkward feeling they both had right now. So, he quickly grabbed her arm firmly again, and pulled her along with him before she could protest anything against him.

"You girls have a separate room from the rest, right?" he asked, though it was more like a confirmation than an actual question. She knew he wanted to talk to her about something, but wasn't sure of exactly what it was.

"Yeah.." she told him, "just down that hallway."

They made a sharp turn into the hallway and he let Sayo lead him to the room. Sayo secretly prayed that Saya, Mitsu, and Kiri weren't there. She hadn't seen the three on the dance floor, so she wasn't sure. "Wait here for a second," she told him before opening the door. Ryu stopped moving and waited patiently.

Sayo sure was a lucky one. The three girls weren't in the room, as Sayo had hoped. She looked back at her companion and nodded to him, letting him know it was okay for him to come in. She closed the door behind him and locked it for privacy. Honestly, she didn't care if the other girls thought of something dirty when they came looking for her only to find that the door was locked. She figured, by that time, the other girls would know the other guys were there and would notice Ryu was missing, along with her. But she didn't care.

Ryu looked around the room, impressed by the size and capacity. He spied the table in the middle with all the empty plates and glasses. Tambourines, menus, and song menus were strewn all over the table. It was a mess. But hey, it was their graduation party after all. They deserved to have a little fun.

He found a spot on the large couch in the room to sit on and flopped down, sinking in comfortably. Sayo felt a little uneasy, almost like when she visited him at his house. The two of them, alone, in the same room, with no supervision. And to top it off, she had on such short shorts. She felt a bit exposed, even though she knew Ryu wasn't that kind of guy. He just wanted to talk. Privately.

"Listen, about the other day…" he started, looking down at his hands in his lap. Sayo jumped a little, startled by his sudden words, and looked over at him curiously. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

Well, she certainly wasn't expecting that. She couldn't say anything, since the memories still stung quite a bit. Come on, he almost died! It's not like she could just get over it in one night. She shook her head in an attempted answer to his apology. He looked up at her when he didn't hear anything come out of her mouth and saw her shaking her head.

"No," Sayo mumbled, still standing, "we shouldn't have meddled to begin with. It wasn't your fault…" she was trying her best to hold back her tears.

Ryu didn't say anything. He felt bad about being the cause of her horrible memories. It truly was a twisted graduation gift, even if it was unintended. He decided to change the subject to a happier one. "So, how does it feel to be a high school graduate?"

"Huh?" her head shot up, the tears at the edges of her eyes falling from the force, and a confused expression played her features. She hadn't expected that.

"Well?"

"Um…" She looked thoughtful for a moment before she answered the question, "not much different to be honest… What about you?" she looked back at him with curiosity.

"Same." he shrugged, not sure of how he was supposed to feel about it in the first place.

Sayo chuckled a little at the answer, and felt a little more at ease. Ryu smirked at that, though he himself was unsure of why he was amused.

"Ne," she started, turning her body away from him, "why were you dancing with Kaminori-san?"

"You know her?"

Sayo nodded her head once, thinking about how she should tell him about her. "She was our class representative."

"Hm." he nodded his head, waiting for her to continue, feeling she wasn't finished speaking.

"Don't let her fool you," she started, unsure of his relationship with her, taking the dancing scene completely the wrong way. "she only goes after guys with lots of money."

"…" Ryu didn't say anything, and was only half listening to her. He was thinking of the best way to explain his situation with Hayato's stupid promise with the girl to Sayo.

"I've heard a lot of bad things about her past relationships…"

"I was only dancing with her because Hayato and the guys forced me to," Ryu interrupted her unintentionally.

"Eh?" she whipped around to face him again with a slightly confused yet relieved expression on her face. "Really?"

Ryu nodded his head, amused that she seemed to be jealous. Just the slightest, though.

"Why would they force you to dance with a girl?"

"Because they thought it would be funny…" he let out, slightly bitter, the subject reminding him of how much he wanted Hayato to get beat up by Saya.

Sayo stared at him for a few moments, not saying anything. Ryu didn't like this. He saw what was coming from the smile that was threatening to crack her face. Sayo's lip began to quiver, she didn't really want to laugh at him, but the topic was just laughable.

"Go ahead," he closed his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows in the process, allowing her to let it out. Better her than the guys, anyway.

Sayo began to giggle almost uncontrollably. She held her hands over her mouth to muffle the sounds for him. She didn't mean to, honest. She couldn't look at him, she knew doing so would only make her laugh more. Her legs began to shake from her laughter. She hadn't eaten anything in a little bit, and it was quite late. Laughing was beginning to make her weak. Once it subsided a little, she made her way to the opposite side of the couch from Ryu and sat on the end.

"Sorry," she let out, "I really don't mean to laugh at you…"

Ryu opened his eyes, only to find she wasn't where she had been. He blinked a few times before moving his sights directly in front of him. There she was, clutching her stomach, tears at the corners of her eyes from laughing too much. Her hands and legs were shaking.

"Just the thought of you dancing with a girl is the funny part…" she clarified, her intentions purely innocent.

"You all right?" he asked her for the second time that night. He kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to realize just how much she was shaking.

She peered at him queerly, then looked down at her shaking limbs. Then she felt the large pit in her stomach growing. Suddenly, a loud grumble erupted from her stomach. She saw him put his hand over his mouth to hide his single chuckle. "Well, I guess that answers your question, huh?"

"I guess so."

So, she ordered another plate of food to eat, and they chatted together for awhile.

* * *

Out on the dance floor, Saya had seen Kaminori dancing with Ryu in the back of the crowd. She knew Sayo was out here somewhere, and prayed that her cousin hadn't seen the horribleness of the scene. However, she was surprised when he took off towards the bar out of nowhere. She had watched him, then realized that he had found Sayo. Saya decided not to go after them though. She figured they needed to talk anyways. Only for a second did a dirty thought run through her mind when she saw him grab Sayo's arm and pull her away from the crowd. She immediately dismissed the thought as soon as it popped up, knowing she could trust Ryu with Sayo.

Saya returned her sights to Kaminori, who had just now realized that the guy she was supposedly dancing with had disappeared. She was frantic for a moment, but then shrugged it off. After that, she scanned the crowd vigorously, apparently looking for someone. She thought Kaminori would be looking for Ryu, but found she was wrong as the other girl had began coming straight towards her. Saya hadn't been expecting Kaminori to approach her, but she knew that if Ryu was there, then the other guys were too. So, she tried her best to keep a neutral face as the other girl approached her.

"Hey Minami-san," Kaminori started sweetly, "where's the rest of your group?"

"Around."

"Well, I met a few people who want to meet you guys," Kaminori tried her best to be vague, but Saya knew immediately that her suspicions were correct. The guys were looking for them. And, she figured Hayato was the one who had set Kaminori up to do this.

"Oh," Saya faked a delighted smile, sounding way too cheery, "let me just go get them together, and we'll meet at the bar, okay?"

"Alright, I'll be waiting," Kaminori smiled and walked away from Saya without another word.

Saya waited for the girl to get a ways away from her before she made a move herself. She looked to her left. None of the other girls were over at the bar, so that meant they could be anywhere else. Instead of wasting her energy and time, she pulled out her white flip phone and emailed them all to meet her at the bar now. After the message was sent, she headed over there herself. She sat on the same barstool Sayo had been on before Ryu dragged her away to the private room the girls had. Kiri was the first one to show up.

"Hey, do you know why the door was locked to our room?" she asked Saya, a completely innocent look on her face.

"I don't know…" Saya told her, with a slight attitude. "Sit down and wait for the other three okay?"

"What about Sayo?" Kiri asked again, successfully getting on Saya's nerves. Then again, Saya couldn't really blame Kiri for all the questions. After all, she had no idea of what the situation had turned into.

"She's busy."

"Oh, you should have said so in the first place." Kiri smiled widely, and sat next to Saya.

Then, Maki and Juri came from the bathrooms, and Mitsu walked up, all sweaty from dancing so much. Each girl stood in front of the two who were sitting at the bar. Mitsu seemed a little irritated. She had been dancing with a really good looking guy for a while now, then this. Maki and Juri were only freshening up and relieving their bladders. Which was only normal. Mitsu would just have to get over it.

"What's this about?" Mitsu asked sourly, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly, as if she was ready to just dismiss whatever it was Saya was going to say.

"Oh, I know you were dancing with that guy, but there are some other guys who wanna meet us, so get over it." Kiri answered instead, fighting Mitsu with her very own attitude.

"Get over it!" Mitsu shot, but had to take a second to register the other half of what Kiri had said. "Wait, guys wanna meet us?" her attitude did a complete 180 in just one second. To be honest, it was a bit scary.

"Yeah," Kiri nodded her head cheerfully.

Just then, Kaminori showed up behind Maki. "Hey girls, it's been a little bit," she smiled, as innocently as she could.

Maki and Juri turned around, startled by the sudden appearance by their former class representative. "Hey…"

"Wait a minute, what are you doing here?" Kiri inquired, leaning forward on her barstool like a monkey.

"Celebrating my graduation, of course."

"Oh…" Kiri nodded slowly.

"We're ready, so take us to them," Saya instructed Kaminori, not wanting to converse with the pawn in a greater scheme, and feeling the urge to bash in Hayato's stupid face for doing this. She knew it was him, none of the others were so stupid.

"Oh, wait, where's Tsukioka-san?" Kaminori questioned curiously, afraid that her bargain with Hayato would be ruined if all of them weren't there. Not that it mattered to her, she had already gotten her part of the deal anyway. It would be his loss.

"Busy, now let's go," Saya sounded even more impatient than before.

"Ok, follow me!" Kaminori smiled and led the way to the guys' booth.

The guys sat in their booth, anticipating the arrival of the girls with Kaminori. Take was sitting on the right side of the booth, so he could see the bar. So, he was the first to see the girls coming their way.

"They're coming," he told them hurriedly, and they all straightened up in their spot, trying to look natural. They succeeded in that aspect.

"Hi guys," Kaminori greeted them casually, acting as if she had known them longer than just twenty minutes or so.

"Hey Kaminori-san," Hayato greeted with his killer smile, and she almost melted on the spot. Kaminori hadn't known just how good looking Hayato could be.

"These are the girls I told you about," she faked, trying desperately to control herself, and motioned with her arm outstretched towards the five girls behind her.

"Hi guys," Saya smiled sadistically as she moved closer to the table, revealing herself.

"Eh!" they were confused. So, they were the girls they had been checking out earlier that night.

"Oh, hey Takeda-kun," Maki greeted with a smile. Take quickly regained his composure and smiled back.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kiri questioned pointedly, bending over to have level eye sight with them, and revealing her cleavage in the process.

"Ah…" Hyuga and Tsuchi fought hard not to bleed all over the place, since they were in the middle of the table, and thus directly in perfect view of Kiri's cleavage.

"Nothing much," Hayato smirked, not daring to look at Saya, "just celebrating our graduation."

"Where's Sayo-chan?" Take asked, curious and innocent.

"Busy…" Saya answered flatly, glaring at Hayato with intent to kill.

Hayato finally bit the bullet. He had to look, even if it were to kill him. He had to see why he hadn't recognized them when he had first seen them. He opened his eyes and felt the heat of Saya's glare. He held back the shiver he felt coming over him and continued bravely. He turned his head to the sight of the same girl he had seen earlier with long flowing, slit pants on. His jaw dropped.

"We could ask you guys the same thing," Mitsu fired back in Saya's place.

"About what?" Take sounded a bit confused, but quickly realized what she was getting at. Why Ryu wasn't there.

"Where's Odagiri-kun?" Juri asked, taking a good, panoramic view of the group of guys in front of her.

"Busy, I guess…" Hayato answered dully, still staring back at Saya, though his mouth was now in control. He finally understood why the pants had turned him on in the first place.

"That's weird…" Kaminori broke in, out of nowhere, causing everyone to look at her. They had honestly forgotten that she was still there.

"What is?" Kiri asked, straightening up, much to Tsuchi and Hyuga's dismay.

"That those two are both gone," Kaminori said, hand on her chin in thought, "don't you guys think it's a bit odd for them to be gone at the same time?"

"Come to think of it," Kiri became thoughtful after hearing that, "the door to our private room was locked when I went back to it…"

"Eh!" everyone else, except for Saya, looked at her in shock.

"Do you think…?" Hyuga vaguely brought up a forbidden subject.

Both Hayato and Saya's heads whipped in his direction. "Of course not, you idiot!"

A small cringe ran through the whole group. Those two in sync was a really creepy occurrence. Almost as bad as Saya and Sayo being in sync.

"Okay…" Hyuga mumbled lowly.

"You know just as well as I do that Ryu wouldn't take advantage of a girl," Hayato scolded Hyuga for his dirty thoughts, though he couldn't deny the fact that he had, for just a second, the same thought, "he isn't like that."

"That's right," Saya agreed, feeling the same as Hayato, "I would trust the two of them in the same room alone."

"Wow, that really is a bit serious then," Mitsu smirked.

"Considering him as family already?" Kiri teased, a devilish smirk playing her lips.

"What the hell are you talking about!" Saya exclaimed.

"Nothing~" Kiri sang and turned away from Saya.

"All right, whatever," Hayato began to change the topic, "do you girls wanna dance?"

"Sure!" Mitsu and Kiri smiled widely.

Take got up and headed out to the dance floor. "Come on, Maki-chan," he smiled back at her childishly, in a way she couldn't bring herself to resist.

Juri followed the two out to dance floor and found some random guy who had been dancing alone. She joined him casually, having a good time. Hyuga got out from the booth and was immediately pulled out to the dance floor by Mitsu, rather roughly. Kiri pushed Tsuchi out to the floor from behind him. In a way, he was really pleased with this outcome. Hayato grabbed Saya's hand and dragged her with him, without her consent or agreement.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing!" Saya protested, but didn't put up too much of an effort to get away. Because, let's face it, she could if she wanted to. But she'd rather forget about their previous topic and battle him on the dance floor instead.

"We're going to dance together, obviously," Hayato dead panned as he stopped, turning around to face her.

"Who said?" Saya protested defiantly again. This time her hands sat on her hips.

"Me," he told her, then grabbed her by her waist, "now come on."

Saya looked away from him so he wouldn't see her red face. She didn't want to give him something to tease her about. Her will to bash his face in slowly disappeared. Although, it occasionally shot back up when he said or did something stupid. Like, oh let's say, letting his hands travel down to her butt. Yeah, she hit him for that one.

Kaminori Ayaka had effectively been forgotten by the groups. But that was all right with her, since she left after the two groups merged on the dance floor. Although, she was a bit disappointed that she couldn't snag that Odagiri guy for herself.

The others left Ryu and Sayo alone, knowing that they were probably having a good time together anyways. Why disturb them? So, the time flew by. Both groups were exhausted by the time they left the club, just half an hour before closing time… They all walked out of the club laughing for no real reason at all. Well, all of them save for the two who were alone. The others didn't want to imagine what they were doing for so long. Plus, it was none of their business. Since they were all tired, the guys decided to walk the girls home so nothing bad happened to them. Hayato had emailed Ryu that they were leaving the club earlier, but hadn't gotten a response from him. Saya was feeling a bit worried, but dismissed the feeling after a little bit. Knowing her cousin was with Ryu was a reassuring thought. Saya knew he wouldn't let anything bad happen to Sayo.

Maki and Juri walked back with Take, since the two girls lived in the same area. They split off from the group first. The next ones to split off from the group were Kiri and Mitsu, accompanied by Hyuga and Tsuchi. That left Saya with Hayato.

The two walked in awkward silence, not exactly sure what to talk about, since Saya's house was quite a bit away from where they currently were.

"So," Hayato started, unsure of himself, looking around at all the scenery, "did you have fun tonight?" he finally asked her.

"Yeah, I had a good time," Saya smiled.

"That's good," Hayato nodded, "cause if you hadn't it would've been a waste of time."

"I guess so…" Saya mumbled, realizing just how true the statement was.

"I know I had fun dancing with you," he smirked, figuring he would probably get a rise out of her for that comment.

Saya side glanced at him and saw the dirty smirk on his lips, "Hey, I don't dance like a slut!"

Just what he wanted. He had executed that trap perfectly, now to finish it. "Oh, I don't know," he acted his part perfectly, "a lot of the guys around me seemed to be eyeing you, and jealous of me…"

Her hands began shaking and she balled them into fists in an attempt to stop. She breathed in slowly, and then exhaled, trying to calm herself. She knew she could turn this situation so that she had the upper hand. "Of course they'd be jealous, being with someone so beautiful."

Hayato knew what she was trying to do. "Yeah, beautiful in a sexy way," his smirk returned.

"I can't help my looks," Saya tossed her hair around vainly, "I've been blessed."

"Blessed?" he questioned, almost losing his act.

"Yes," Saya answered sternly, looking at him with determined eyes.

An older gentlemen, walking home from drinking with his colleagues, stumbled by them, wearing his tie around his head, as businessmen usually do when drunk, giggling to himself. He had been watching the two of them for a moment or so, then couldn't stop himself from saying something. "Oh, you kids, stop flirting. You shouldn't be out this late anyway."

"Eh!" the two jumped, startled by the man's outburst, and turned toward the direction in which the voice had come from.

They couldn't say anything in their own defense since the man had continued stumbling his way down the street right after he had said his piece. Saya and Hayato stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Did they really look like they were flirting? After the moment they took, they continued walking in awkward silence again. The whole trap Hayato had set up was totally ruined now. Both thought back to how the scene must've looked from an outsider's point of view, then began to blush uncontrollably. Hayato hadn't realized that he really was flirting with her. Saya realized that she had only been feeding the fire with her retorts.

The silence was broken when Saya's phone rang, signaling she had an email. She fished it out from the back pocket of her pants, and looked at the sender. It was from Sayo. Saya read the email, a curious Hayato next to her, watching her read it. Sayo was wondering if they had left the club yet. Saya replied and asked her where she was.

"From Sayo-chan?" Hayato asked, averting his eyes from her quickly as she looked up again.

"Yeah, she wanted to know if we had left yet," Saya answered, nodding her head.

"Hm."

Silence fell again as they continued to walk side by side towards Saya's apartment. Not too long after the reply had been sent, another message had been received. Saya hurriedly opened it, since she was anxious to know where her cousin was, and if she was all right.

'Oh, okay… I'm still with Odagiri-kun. We're walking around the park right now.' was the reply Sayo had sent. A viable, yet vague, answer to Saya's question. Saya replied to her cousin again telling her to go home soon or her mother would get worried about her.

"She still with Ryu?" Hayato asked, knowing the message was an answer.

Saya only nodded her head. "They're at the park…"

"Why would they be at the park?" Hayato asked, knowing that there was no accurate answer available to them both.

Saya shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "I don't know."

Hayato couldn't say anything. Saya sounded like she was really worried about Sayo. He knew Ryu could take care himself and Sayo if he needed to, but wasn't sure why the two were walking around together. Since Ryu was his best friend, Hayato didn't want to have ill thoughts about him, but couldn't help but think that something was up.

Another message came and Saya hurriedly opened and read it. 'Uh, I don't know if I'm going home tonight or not… Odagiri-kun isn't sure if he wants to either… we might sleep in the park lol'. Saya's faced went rigid as she read the last part. "You've gotta be kidding me!" she yelled at the phone, gripping it hard.

Hayato looked at her in confusion, startled by her sudden yelling. "Careful or you'll break your phone…" he mumbled.

Saya mashed the buttons on her phone vigorously, typing in a reply to Sayo's little 'joke'. It wasn't funny to her. And it really wouldn't be funny to Sayo's mother either. God, if Sayo's mother knew she was out with a guy this late, she'd faint. And you know that you wouldn't want to be around when she woke up.

"What'd she say?" Hayato was almost afraid to ask, but wanted so desperately to know.

"She said they were gonna sleep in the park tonight…" Saya growled lowly, not wanting to take her anger out on him.

Hayato blinked several times, taking in the information. "Sleep in the park?"

Saya didn't answer, and held her phone tightly in front of her face, waiting impatiently for Sayo's reply. Hayato watched her and secretly told himself to never, ever, get her this angry himself. He did not want her wrath. When the message came, Saya opened it without thinking.

'Sorry, that wasn't what I should have said… I'll be sure to tell my mom where I am okay? Don't worry about me and just have fun with Yabuki-kun~'… Saya read the message several times before realizing something. Sayo made an accurate assumption without even being near her.

"…" Saya began to tremble at how scary that message was. How the hell did she know she was with Hayato? Saya decided to ask her cousin.

Hayato observed her behavior, and quickly came to the conclusion that he probably shouldn't ask about it. Not anymore. It really was none of his business anyways. Even though his best friend was involved, he was not. So, he just watched as Saya continued to tremble. They kept moving forward, Hayato keeping an eye out for shady people around.

Saya got a message back, but it wasn't what she wanted to see. 'Just a hunch… why, are you really with him?'. She replied with a simple message this time, realizing that she was almost home. Her outburst had made her feel just how exhausted she was. Sure, Hayato had an effect on her, but that wasn't always a good thing. Being around him usually did make her fell more lively and active.

"We're almost there, Yabuki-kun," Saya informed her companion, seeing him on the look out. She giggled lightly to herself a little at the serious face he had.

Hayato looked over at her and nodded his head, ignoring her giggles. "Alright."

The last message Saya received from Sayo just told her good night. As the two graduates climbed the stairs to Saya and her mother's apartment, Saya sighed about three times. Once at the correct floor, Hayato turned to her, since he was in front.

"Tired?" he asked, seemingly amused by her.

"Yeah, so what?" she spat childishly, stretching her arms out with a yawn.

"It's just cute, that's all," he turned back around, not wanting her to see him blushing from the embarrassing compliment he just gave her.

Saya couldn't say anything to that. She was reluctant to pass him since she was blushing for the same exact reason he was. But she ended up passing him. Let's face it, he didn't know which apartment was theirs. She stopped in front of the door and turned to him.

"Thanks for walking me home," she smiled.

"Not a problem," he shrugged, "if my dad knew I hadn't walked a girl home at this late hour, he'd have killed me for being inconsiderate."

Saya chuckled at what he said, truly amused. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around then, since we're graduated now."

"Yeah, got to go look for a job now," Hayato muttered lowly, not wanting to have so much responsibility yet.

"Same here," she nodded, knowing how he felt. "But hey, I need money to pay for college, so I gotta do it."

"True," Hayato nodded his head.

They stood there for a moment, until Saya heard something from inside the house.

"Well," he started before things got awkward again, "I'll be going now. Have a good night, Saya-chan." Hayato turned to leave.

"You too, Yabuki-kun," she called to his back, and he stopped to look back at her.

"You know, you don't have to be so formal anymore," he told her kindly.

"Eh?" she wasn't expecting that.

"Just call me Hayato from now on, all right?" and he continued on his way before she had any time to answer.

However, Saya couldn't answer though. She was too shocked from what he had told her to say anything. It took her a moment to recover. "Eh?" she breathed again. She shook her head to try and seem normal when she walked into the apartment. Once ready, she turned back to the door and entered. "I'm home."

* * *

The next morning, Saya was rudely awoken by her mother shaking her violently. She scrunched her eyes tightly and furrowed her eyebrows to show her discomfort to her mother so she didn't have to say anything. Maybe her mom would stop after seeing that. Apparently not. Ayumi kept shaking her daughter, telling her to 'get up right this instant'.

"Ahhhhhh!" Saya moaned as her mother kept shaking her violently.

"I'm not kidding, Saya, wake up!" Ayumi sounded very upset, now that Saya could hear her clearly. "This is serious."

Saya cracked an eye open to see what her mother's face could tell her. Yep, her mother was upset. Concern and worry were written all over it. However, whether the emotions were spurred from her late night arrival, or from something else entirely, she couldn't tell. "What?"

"Sit up first," Ayumi ordered her daughter, ceasing the violent shaking.

Saya sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "What is it?" she drawled lazily, thinking it was something her mom was freaking out over for no reason.

"Mayumi called me this morning," Ayumi started, and Saya immediately had a bad feeling. A pit formed in her gut that this was about Sayo. "Sayo-chan never came home last night."

Saya's eyes shot wide open. "What?"

Ayumi only nodded her head solemnly. Saya's eyes ran from side to side in a panic. She ended up looking back at her mom with a desperate, pleading look on her face, asking for more information on the subject.

"Mayumi said that Sayo-chan never even contacted her last night to tell her where she would be if she was going to stay out," Ayumi answered her daughter's silent plea.

"I told her to tell her mom about it!" Saya grumbled angrily, recalling that Sayo had reassured her that she would contact her mother.

"Mayumi said she even called Takeshi-kun and asked him," Ayumi continued, and Saya's head shot up with a hopeful look on it. "but he said he hadn't seen her, and would contact Mayumi if he did."

"Where could she have gone…" Saya mumbled, and suddenly remembered the little joke Sayo had made about sleeping in the park. She couldn't have been serious about that, could she?

Before she could ask anymore, Saya's phone rang at her bedside. She hurriedly grabbed it to see who was calling her. She was hoping for Sayo's name to be there, but it wasn't. Instead, it was Hayato. Her face contorted in confusion, wondering why he would be calling her this early, and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Saya-chan," Hayato started, sounding a bit worried himself. "have you heard from Sayo-chan?"

"No, why?"

"Well, I just got a call from Ryu's parents," his voice was laced with concern now, and her fears grew with his as the words rang from his lips into her ears. "He never came home last night…"

"You're kidding, right?" Saya asked incredulously, hating her life at the moment.

"No," Hayato answered seriously.

"Sayo didn't go home last night either…" she told him.

"What?"

"Yeah, I know…" Saya breathed, knowing just how he was feeling. "I couldn't believe it either…"

"They're both missing…"

"And they were together last night, too…"

"Who was together last night?" Ayumi asked, feeling out of the loop. Saya only waved her hand in front of her.

"This is too weird…" Hayato mumbled, Saya feeling the same way.

"Did you try to call him?" she asked, wondering if she should try contacting Sayo too.

"Yeah, but he didn't answer…" his voice was laced with concern again. "Did you try Sayo-chan?"

"No, I just woke up…" Saya admitted.

She only heard him sigh on the other end of the line. "Just call me back after you've at least tried, alright?"

"Yeah, I will."

And they both hung up. Saya was greeted by her mother's curious face.

"Who was that?"

"A friend of mine and Sayo's," Saya answered vaguely, dialing Sayo's number on her phone and pressing it to her ear.

"Calling Sayo-chan?" her mother inquired.

Saya only nodded her head and listened for any sound on the other end of the line. Sayo's voice mail picked up and Saya got really worried. She left a message, telling Sayo to call her as soon as she got the message.

"She didn't answer?" Ayumi inquired, knowing the answer to her question before she even asked it. "Maybe we should ask Kumi-chan if she's seen her…"

"No, I don't think we need to trouble sempai with this," Saya interjected, knowing her mother was desperate and feeling bad for her sister. How worried Mayumi must have been, Saya couldn't even imagine. "This is a family matter…"

"You're right," Ayumi sighed. She stood from her daughter's bed and left the room.

"Man, Sayo, where are you?" Saya asked, looking up at her ceiling. "Guess I better tell Hayato about this…" she mumbled, dialing his number, not even realizing what she had said herself.

"Did you get a hold of her?" he asked, not needing to greet her properly since he knew why she was calling him.

"No…"

"Damn it," Hayato cursed, "now we have to go looking for them…"

"We should," Saya agreed, "maybe we'll be able to find them."

"Honestly, I never thought Ryu would cause trouble like this…"

The two hung up the phone once again, and Saya changed her clothes. She entered the kitchenette of the apartment and grabbed a snack for breakfast. Ayumi had apparently thought that looking for Sayo was a good idea. She had called her sister to inform her of the search. Both women were in sweat pants and tank tops, ready to go looking and get some exercise. Saya and her mother left the apartment after eating their food.

Time to figure out just where the two had slipped away to. First stop, the park!

_To be continued…_


	16. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Remember Kids, Always Inform Your Parents Of Your Plans First**

Ryu was rudely awoken by three loud knocks on his apartment door. He cursed under his breath at whoever it was. Slowly sitting up on his couch, he turned his head and glared evilly at the door. He sighed heavily and put on the tank top he had grabbed the previous night and got off the couch with heavily shoulders. He slumped over to the door and peered out the peep hole to see who was at his new door this early in the morning. He almost lost his balance. Why the hell was Hayato here! He fumbled with the lock on the door and opened it to let in his best friend.

"Morning," Hayato growled, a really pissed off expression on his face.

Ryu only nodded, he didn't really take the look to heart. Although, he couldn't figure out a reason as to why Hayato would be angry with him.

"I hope you don't mind," Hayato continued to glare at Ryu, stepping aside to reveal another guest. "I brought Saya-chan with me."

"Come in," Ryu opened the door wider and let the two step inside the practically empty apartment.

"Ojamashimasu…" the two mumbled as they stepped inside and traded their shoes for slippers.

Looking at the pair's attire, he figured they had been rudely awoken. After all, they were both in sweatpants and some sort of t-shirt, which made it look like they had just grabbed something out of the closet and then left the house. Ryu made his way back to the couch to clean up his bed area. He picked up his blanket and folded it neatly. Tucking it under his arm, he turned back to his guests.

"Want something to drink?"

"I'm okay, Odagiri-kun," Saya shook her head politely. She looked down at the coffee table that sat by the couch Ryu was standing in front of. It wasn't a mess, but there were a lot of magazines on it. Mostly job magazines.

"You got coffee?" Hayato asked, losing his pissed look and growl, the longer he stood in the apartment. How it must have felt to be free of parental figures. He found himself admiring his best friend, and thus forgetting why he had come over in the first place.

"Yeah, give me minute," Ryu nodded and headed off in the bedroom. There was a door in the wall separating the two rooms. He put away the blanket and took a small peek over at the bed. He felt a bit of relief, then returned to the other room to make Hayato his coffee, closing the door behind him.

Saya had been curious as to why Ryu had looked at his bed for a moment, but shrugged it off as she walked toward the couch with Hayato next to her. She looked down at the coffee table again and something caught her eye. "Ah!" she gasped.

Hayato looked over at her with curiosity. "What is it, Saya-chan?"

Saya didn't answer him. She just grabbed the thing that caught her eye. It was Sayo's cell phone, which had been put on silent and was placed next to Ryu's phone.

"Is that Sayo-chan's?" Hayato asked her lowly. She only nodded her head as she flipped the thing open and saw the alert flashing, signaling a missed call.

Hayato looked over at his best friend suspiciously. Hayato wordlessly got up from the couch, leaving Saya to stare at the phone in disbelief for a few moments. He made his way to Ryu in the kitchenette and stood next to him.

"What?" Ryu asked, a bored tone to his voice, and an unreadable expression on his face. He was currently brewing the coffee.

"Did you bring Sayo-chan back here last night?" Hayato asked him in a low voice so Saya couldn't hear.

Ryu didn't say anything, the coffee was done brewing and he poured a cup for Hayato and himself. His only answer was a nod of his head as he pushed one of the cups toward Hayato, and pulled out the sugar and creamer from the cabinets. Hayato could only gape at his best friend.

Ryu kept silent and fixed his coffee to just the way he liked it and took a small sip after stirring thoroughly. "So what?" he looked at Hayato, but didn't let him say anything else, walking back to the couch to sit down on the opposite end from Saya.

"You didn't do… that, did you…?" Hayato mumbled to himself, but quickly dismissed the suspicious thought, and fixed his coffee to his likings so he could join the other two on the couch.

Before Saya could ask the exact question Hayato had asked Ryu just a minute ago, the topic herself emerged from the bedroom, clad in one of Ryu's t-shirts that he usually wore to school, and a pair of sweatpants that were, no doubt, Ryu's as well. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and groaned a little when the light coming in from the windows hit her face. Ryu looked over at her and shook his head slightly.

"Morning."

Sayo looked over at him and waved her hand a little, but didn't say anything. Saya looked over at him queerly, thinking he was talking to her for a second. Quickly, realization hit her, and she spun around in her seat to find her cousin standing there in the boy's clothes, rubbing her eyes. She shot out of her seat.

"Sayo!" Saya exclaimed and grabbed the tired girl by her shoulders. She had so many things to say, to ask, but couldn't figure out which one to ask first.

"Saya?" Sayo stopped rubbing her eyes, letting her arm fly down to her side, and groggily tried to recognize her cousin. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that!" Saya retorted, feeling a bit impatient.

"I stayed here last night, why wouldn't I be here?" Sayo told her, not really seeing the harm, or the wrong.

Saya's head fell. She sighed, and looked up at her cousin again. "Why didn't you tell your mom?"

"Huh?" Sayo felt a little confused, but she was still pretty tired.

"Same goes for you, Ryu," Hayato glared at his best friend, finally remembering why he had come over in the first place.

"Why do I have to tell them I'm going to _my_ apartment?" Ryu asked, not liking the question that had been implied.

"So they don't call me at seven in the morning, that's why!" Hayato answered, irritated by the sheer memory of waking up so early, when there was no school, to his phone ringing.

Ryu looked over at Hayato in confusion, but was clearly amused by the other's irritation. Ryu had stop himself from laughing at his best friend. "They really called you that early?"

"Yes," Hayato growled, "they thought I might know where you were."

"Sorry about that," Ryu hid the small, amused smile that took over his lips by taking another sip of his coffee.

"Saya," Sayo mumbled, feeling a bit bad about it, now that she realized just how worried her family must've been last night. "I'm sorry, when we got here last night, I almost fell asleep right away, so I forgot to call them."

Saya sighed at her cousin, but knew that the reason was valid. She had hardly been able to walk to her bed, let alone change into pajamas, without yawning last night either. As soon as her head hit her pillow, she was out. So, she really couldn't blame Sayo.

"It's all right, just call her now and let her know," Saya handed Sayo her cell phone and sat back down on the couch.

"Okay," Sayo nodded her head.

"Our mothers are both out wandering around, trying to find you, you know," Saya added, to emphasize the hurry that was needed.

"Mm," Sayo nodded her head again and slipped back into the bedroom to call her mom to let her know she was all right, and with Saya.

"You better call your dad too," Hayato told Ryu, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. "He probably has half the police force out looking for you…"

"Fine." Ryu grumbled, not wanting to do it, but grabbed his phone from the coffee table anyways.

Ryu was scolded strongly by his father, but he knew his father didn't have any ill intentions this time around. It was just a case parental worries. However, when Ryu had mentioned bringing a friend back to the apartment, his father seemed curious, like a kid. His father asked who it was, and Ryu was reluctant to tell him. He decided that dishonesty would get him into real trouble, so he told his father it was a female friend. They were to have a talk when Ryu came home. Ah, it was to be a long night for Ryu once again.

Sayo had received a full on blubbering conversation with her mother. She comforted her mother, telling her everything was fine and she'd be home in a few hours. Unfortunately, her absence was not missed by her father, and she was informed of the long talk he intended to have with her when he got home from work that night. Sayo hesitated to tell her mother where she was when she was asked, though. Her parents would totally freak if they knew she had spent the night at a guy's place. Even though the two teens hadn't done anything, her parents would take it the wrong way. But, she had to tell them. Luckily, it wasn't received too badly by her mother. Her father would be a totally different story.

Both teens hung up their phones after their conversations with their parent and sighed heavily. Sayo returned to the sitting room looking drained of all her energy.

"Well, did she take it well?" Saya asked, slightly amused by Sayo's face.

Sayo only sighed and plopped down on the couch between Saya and Hayato. She had her eyes closed, and her head was craned backwards, head resting on the back of the couch. She opened her eyes, and sighed again. "I hate my life…" she mumbled.

"I take it you both have a long talk coming with your parents, hm?" Saya inquired, feeling like the two had gotten their just desserts.

They only nodded, and sighed again.

Hayato chuckled at the two. "Serves you right, doing things on your own like that."

"Shut up," Ryu snapped at him, despising the way Hayato was enjoying this.

Hayato only stuck his tongue out at Ryu and smirked.

"Imagine if _you_ had stayed out all night with Saya-chan," Ryu proposed the situation, and the two immediately had their eyes on him. "what would your dad say when you told him you were out all night with a girl?"

The two blushed at thought of being alone together all night. Hayato stammered a bit, imagining the situation in his head. After the whole scene was done, he shivered visibly, and became a bit pale. "He'd kill me!"

"Exactly."

"Why did you have to put me in the situation!" Saya asked, still blushing from the proposal.

"What, you'd rather me put Sayo-chan in the situation instead?" Ryu reasoned, making it seem like he knew Saya had a crush on Hayato.

Sayo hadn't really been listening. She was too busy yelling at herself in her head for being so reckless to care about what was going on around her.

"No…" Saya muttered, side glancing at her cousin.

"Alright then," Ryu turned his head to face forward again and grabbed his coffee cup off the table. "then it's you."

"I hate your logic," Saya told him bitterly.

Ryu and Hayato felt a bit of déjà vu. Then, they remembered. Hayato had said that to Ryu just last night. Hayato chuckled at the irony.

"What's so funny!" Saya protested, not liking that Hayato was the one laughing. After all, they were the two in the proposed situation, what the hell was wrong with his head?

"I said that to Ryu last night too," Hayato told her, chuckling a bit more. He took a sip of his coffee afterwards.

"Oh…" Saya blinked a couple times.

A few moments of silence filled the room as they all settled down. Hayato had grown quite curious after a bit of thinking. Just how exactly did the two end up here in the first place? He had to know.

"Hey, Ryu," he turned to the silent boy, intent on squeezing an answer out of him.

"Hm?"

"Why did you and Sayo-chan come back here last night anyway?" there, he asked. Now, to prod until Ryu couldn't take it anymore, and answered him properly. Saya looked over, since she was curious as well.

"Nowhere else to go," Ryu shrugged, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Not what I was talking about," Hayato grumbled, not liking the simple answer, knowing damn well that they had other places to go.

"He didn't want to go back home," Sayo answered for Ryu out of nowhere.

Hayato turned around to look at the girl who had answered. "Why?"

"Hell if I know," she shrugged, leaning forward a bit. "didn't tell me why."

"And what about you?" Hayato asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"I was having fun," Sayo answered, in a matter of fact way. "you really think I wanted to go home and possibly miss something?"

Hayato thought for a moment, then shrugged. He knew if it were him, he wouldn't have wanted to miss anything fun either.

"But it was really late," Sayo continued, standing from the couch and stretching her limbs. "and I was too tired to walk all the way to my house."

Saya watched Sayo walk over to the empty part of the room to stretch some more while telling them.

"Odagiri-kun," Sayo started, but was cut off sharply by Ryu.

"Didn't I tell you about that?" he grumbled, hating the formal tone in her voice whenever she referred to him as 'Odagiri-kun'.

"Sorry, force of habit…" Sayo mumbled her apology, not looking over at the others to hide her blush. She wasn't completely comfortable with referring to him so casually around the others. It meant they were more intimate than the two seemed to be.

Hayato, too curious for his own good, whipped his head to Ryu. "What'd you tell her about?"

"I told her to stop calling me that," Ryu muttered lowly, but he wasn't irritated.

"Oh…" Hayato knew how he felt, since he had told Saya the same thing last night. He returned his sights to Sayo, who had continued to stretch while waiting for them to stop talking so she could continue.

"Ryu-kun," Sayo started again, still blushing with embarrassment. "told me that his new apartment was a short walk, and said he would let me stay the night, since it was late and I was tired."

"Oh, so you told her she could stay, hm?" Hayato turned back to his best friend and nudged him in the sides with a suggestive look on his face.

"Yeah, what of it?" Ryu glared at Hayato, hating the look he was receiving.

"Oh, nothing," Hayato turned away smugly.

Saya was too shocked at how much of a gentlemen Ryu had been. She figured Sayo felt the same, since her cousin wouldn't look at him. Saya turned to Ryu, "Thanks for letting her stay."

Ryu looked over at Saya, and nodded his head. "No problem."

Sayo finished stretching and made her way to the kitchenette. "What do you have to drink?"

"Not sure," Ryu told her, watching her walk. "look in the fridge, there might be something in there."

Sayo stood in front of the fridge door and looked back at Saya. "You want something, Saya?"

"Uh, sure," Saya stood and bounded over to her cousin's side.

Hayato looked at Ryu with a smug, suggestive smirk again. "You're letting her go through your fridge before you do?"

"So what?" Ryu glared at him again, his voice pointed and irritated.

"Did you realize anything last night?" Hayato suddenly got serious with Ryu when he asked the question in a low voice so the girls couldn't hear them.

Ryu looked away, not liking where the conversation was going. He thought through the previous night, wondering if he really had realized something or not.

-Flashback-

Sayo and Ryu walked through the entrance of Shirokin Park. Sayo was laughing at the way people had been looking at her as she stumbled down the street. She was really tired. Ryu imagined this was how she would act if she were drunk. However, he knew she hadn't drank a bit of alcohol in her life. He just shook his head at her behavior while walking behind her. She stumbled over to a bench and sat down slowly with a yawn.

"Tired?" he asked, knowing the answer was obvious, but still felt the urge to ask her.

"Mm," she moaned, nodding her head with her eyes closed. She sighed and opened her eyes again, looking up at him.

"What do you wanna do?"

"I don't think I'd be able to walk all the way home," she chuckled at her situation. She knew she'd get in trouble if she didn't go home, but couldn't find the strength to walk the whole way.

Their conversation was interrupted by Sayo sending Saya message on her phone. Her thoughts of home suddenly reminded her of the girls.

He waited for her to finish typing before he continued. "Well, I don't feel like going home, either."

"Really?" Sayo blinked innocently, then looked back down at her hands as her phone vibrated in them. Soon after, she quickly typed in another message to her cousin.

"Yeah," he continued, watching her type. "But, I don't know where else we could go…"

A moment of silence fell on them, then her phone vibrated again. Her face showed a bit of regret. "Whoops, guess I shouldn't have said that…" she mumbled as she typed a reply again.

"Shouldn't have said what?" Ryu asked. He hadn't been eavesdropping into her conversation by looking over at her phone screen.

"I told Saya we were planning on sleeping in the park tonight," she chuckled a little, realizing how silly it sounded.

"Yeah, probably not," Ryu looked away from his companion to find another bench. Since he couldn't find one that was close enough, he definitely ruled sleeping at the park a bad idea. If something were to happen, he wouldn't be able to get to her in time.

"Well, can you think of anywhere else we can go?" she asked, looking up from her phone while waiting for Saya's reply.

"Hm…" he thought for a moment as she quickly replied to her cousin and pocketed her phone again. Apparently they were done talking. He looked at the surrounding area, and realization struck him. Of course! His new apartment. Why didn't he think of that sooner?

Sayo sighed, then yawned immediately after, feeling tired again.

Ryu looked over at her. "I know where."

She looked up at him, "Really?"

"Yeah, my parents just began renting an apartment for me for when I start college," he explained a little, and helped her stand up straight from the bench by holding her hand steady for her. "we can stay there."

"You sure you want me to stay too?" she asked, not wanting to get him into any trouble with his parents. "I mean…"

"It's okay," he reassured her and they began to walk out of the park. "it's not too far from here, anyways."

"Oh…" she nodded her head and tried her hardest to keep her balance steady so she wouldn't fall on him with her tired, clumsy feet.

The two walked the short way to Ryu's new apartment. He was really glad that the movers his dad had hired to move his belongings into the apartment weren't there when they got there. He told Sayo to go up first, so if she fell he could catch her, so she wouldn't get hurt. Sayo did so, thankful that he couldn't see her face, since she was blushing from him saying he would catch her if she fell. There were only three levels to his apartment building, and his apartment was on the second. Sayo was really glad she only had to climb one flight of stairs.

Once on the landing, Ryu stepped out ahead of her, since he knew where the door was. He reached down to the mat in front of the door, where the extra key was, and grabbed it. Straightening back up, he stuck the key in the lock and twisted it. They both heard a small click, and he twisted the doorknob, pushing open the door. He let her step in first, and followed her in. She bent down to take her heels off, yearning for the feel of something soft on her feet. Since his apartment was carpeted, she put on a pair of guest slippers he had sitting by the door. He, too, discarded his boots for his own slippers in his room. Of course, he had taken his boots off first, since he had socks on, and walked to his bedroom to place the boots where they belonged and grab his slippers.

He came back out to find Sayo sprawled out on the couch. He smirked at her before he made his way to the kitchenette to grab a cup of water. "You probably shouldn't sleep in those clothes…"

"What else am I supposed to wear?" she shot back weakly, too tired to fight with him.

"I'll give you something," Ryu told her. He took a long drink of his water.

She looked up at him, trying to figure out what he was up to. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," he responded. "just trying to be a good host."

She chuckled at that and rested her head on the arm of the couch.

"Why don't you just go take a shower?" he proposed. "You've been dancing for hours in that hot club, sweating all night, no doubt."

"I guess," she gave up, standing from the couch in the process. "Where's the bathroom?"

"It's the other door in the bedroom," he told her, bringing his cup up to his face again. "I'll set the clothes on the bed for you, and I'll close the bedroom door."

"Alright," she nodded and headed for the bathroom, arm out stretched toward the wall for stability.

Ryu finished his water and headed into the bedroom to grab a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for her to wear to bed. He felt a little uneasy after he heard the water turn on. He thought hard on which pair of his sweats might fit her, and which t-shirt would be long enough. It's not like he was way taller than her; he was only a head taller. It made the difference though. His heart beat quickened when he heard the water pattern change, signaling that she had gotten in. By then, he just grabbed whichever and left them on the bed. He walked out quickly, shutting the door behind him. He shut his eyes, trying not to listen to the sound of the running water.

To help him out, he turned on his radio in the sitting room and tried to drown out the water. About twenty minutes later, he heard the water turn off. He let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding, and sighed in relief. He heard the bathroom door open behind him and tried not to think about it. Mere seconds later, she came out with just his t-shirt on. Luckily for him, it reached down to her mid-thigh. Thank god.

"Ryu-kun," she asked, feeling a little uncomfortable, yet covered up enough, "why did you put out sweats too?"

"Just in case you get cold," he told her, looking away from her so he didn't get caught staring at her exposed legs.

"Oh, well," she smiled, "thanks," She sat down on the couch in front of her phone. She grabbed it and silenced it for the night, so neither of them were rudely awakened by anyone, then set it back down on the table.

"You should put them on," he told her, standing up from the couch, making his way back into the kitchenette.

"But I'm not cold," she reasoned, leaning on the arm of the couch again. She casually swung her legs onto the rest of it, taking up the remainder of the seating.

He grabbed a cup of instant noodles out of his cabinets, knowing they were there, and popped it open. "Doesn't matter," he protested, filling his kettle with water and setting it on the stove.

"Does too," she responded childishly with her eyes closed.

He looked over at her, and couldn't resist putting his hand to his forehead. "No, it doesn't."

"Ugh," she stood up roughly, sweats in her fist. "Fine, I'll put them on…" She did, too. Right where she stood.

Before she bent over to get her legs through, Ryu quickly turned around to watch the kettle on the stove, so he wouldn't see her underwear. He kept on looking at the kettle until he heard her sit back down on the couch.

"Happy now?" she grumbled tiredly, resuming her previous position.

He turned back around and saw her right back to where she was. "Yeah."

"Humph."

He barely heard her. At that, he only rolled his eyes. The kettle was screaming, and he grabbed it off quickly, so it wouldn't disturb her. He kept his hand steady as he poured the water into the noodle cup to the line inside. He set his chopsticks on top, to let the noodles cook, and looked back at her. She was fast asleep. He sighed. He figured he'd be nice and give her the bed, instead of taking it for himself. So, he went into the bedroom first, to pull back the comforter on the bed. Then, he slowly approached her, not sure of how long she had been asleep for. First, to make sure she was really asleep, he put his hand on her shoulder lightly. She didn't budge. Taking that as an okay, he gently scooped her up, left arm behind her back, right arm under her knees, and carried her into his room. He slipped her body under the comforter, and, once he had let go of her, he pulled the comforter back up to cover her. She rolled over the moment he stood up straight, and had an angelic smile on her face. Ryu shook his head, but watched for a moment. He snapped out of his trance, remembering he had noodles, and left the room.

After he finished his noodles, he threw out the styrofoam cup and placed his chopsticks in the sink to be washed the next day. He figured he needed a shower too, since he had been dancing that night too. So, he pulled out a tank top and a pair of sweats as quietly as he could, so he didn't disturb her, and took a quick shower. When he exited the bathroom, he was already dressed. He found an extra comforter in his closet and took it with him. He was to sleep on the couch tonight.

-End Flashback-

Ryu realized that, in his dreams last night, he had seen all of his friends. They did the things they always did; goofed around and had fun. Then came the odd part, Sayo was always by his side. In the dream, she never left his side. Not once. And Saya had stayed by Hayato, scolding him when she was irritated by his actions. There was even one point in the dream where he and Sayo were alone. Not that he didn't want to remember what happened then, he really did want to, but he just couldn't. He didn't get it.

Hayato kept staring at his best friend, waiting for an answer to his question. "Well?"

"Mm," Ryu nodded his head once, "she's special."

Hayato couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had Ryu finally realized his feelings? Hayato wished he could try to prod more out of him, but the girls were on their way back to the couch, drinks in hand.

"What are you two talking about?" Saya asked, a wide smile on her face. She had been newly rejuvenated knowing that Sayo was fine. Even if the other girl had spent the night at a guy's house…

"Nothing really…" Hayato looked away, knowing that neither him nor Ryu wanted the girls to know what they had been whispering about.

"Mm-hm…" Saya nodded her head, knowing he was lying, but let it slide. She didn't care too much anyway.

The four talked for a while before Saya told Sayo she should probably head home, and have lunch with her parents. After all, it was almost noon. Sayo had protested that she only had her clubbing outfit with her, and that it was inappropriate to see her parents in it.

"You can borrow what you have on," Ryu told her, not looking at the girls.

"Really?" Sayo blinked a few times, shocked by the offer. Well, more of the fact that Ryu had continued to act like a gentleman towards her.

Ryu only nodded his head as an answer to her confirmation. Sayo went into the bathroom to grab her clothing, since she was leaving, and returned to the sitting room with a curious expression playing her face.

"When should I return them?" Sayo asked reasonably, knowing that neither of them had a clue when they would see each other next.

"If you don't see me for a while, you could always give them to Hayato and tell him to give them back to me," he told her, still looking away from her.

"Oh," Sayo nodded her head, taking in all the information. It was odd when Ryu spoke a lot at one time. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he closed his eyes, concentrating on staying calm.

"Alright, well, I guess I'll be going then…" Sayo mumbled, sitting down at the front door to put her heels on. Boy, this was gonna look weird. A girl, in sweats and a t-shirt, matched with expensive heels… Yeah, that says a lot right there. Sayo knew she was going to get eyes on her way home. She'd just have to ignore them.

"I'll walk with you," Hayato told her as he stood from the couch. "I should be getting home, anyway, since my brother's home alone right now…"

"Oh, alright," Ryu nodded his head, looking directly at his best friend.

"See you later, Saya-chan," Hayato turned to the other girl in the room and smiled at her enthusiastically.

"Mm." she nodded her head.

Sayo had her heels on already and was standing in front of the door with her hand on the knob. She waited for Hayato to put his shoes on before she actually opened the door to leave. When he stood up straight, she turned to Ryu once more. "Thanks again, Ryu-kun," she said with a sincere smile.

Ryu only nodded.

"See you later, Ryu," Hayato called back as Sayo opened the door and walked out. Hayato followed her out and closed the door behind himself.

Saya watched the door for a moment or so, still sitting on the couch with Ryu. When she was sure that the other two were far enough from the door, she turned to Ryu with a serious gaze. She said nothing at first; she was trying to think of the best way to approach him. Ryu felt her gaze and turned to her, expecting her to say something. He had this feeling she wanted to talk to him about something he really didn't want to talk about…

"Hey, Odagiri-kun," Saya started, choosing her words carefully. "There's something I need to know…"

Ryu kept himself silent, knowing she had more to say.

"It's about Sayo," her face hardened at the mention of her cousin. She steeled her determination to confront him about it, for Sayo's sake. "I need to know, both as her cousin and best friend."

"…" Ryu knew he probably should tell someone, his mind was all over the place when Sayo was around. Not that he showed it at all, mind you. But it was still the effect she had on him. He looked away from Saya in order to hide his contemplation.

"I swear I won't tell anyone about this conversation," Saya continued, feeling desperate, but knowing that this compromise was needed to seal the deal.

"Fine," Ryu agreed, still looking away from Saya. He didn't want to do this, but since it was confidential, he figured, what the hell.

"I don't want to beat around the bush but," Saya started, looking down at her lap. "first things first. Why did you really let Sayo stay the night last night?"

"Because it was easier than carrying her half asleep on my back all the way to her house," Ryu told her, knowing Saya would want more of an answer than that. "Other than being a little lazy myself, I really don't know what compelled me to let her stay."

"What exactly is Sayo to you?" Saya asked seriously, an air of incredulity in her voice.

"An important…" Ryu hesitated, trying to figure out what the appropriate title would be. "friend."

Saya smiled, closed her eyes, and shook her head at that. "The main question I have is simple, really," she chuckled a little. She sighed and looked directly at him, as he had been looking at her with questioning eyes. "Do you like Sayo?"

Ryu saw it coming. This was the exact subject he knew he didn't want to talk about with anyone. He didn't even want to bring it up with himself. He looked away from Saya again, trying to find an answer to the question. "I'm not sure…"

"Not sure?" Saya repeated, blinking. "It's a yes or no question!"

Ryu did not retort to her little outburst, as he saw it wasn't over yet.

"You either like her, or you don't!" Saya continued, quite irritated by the reply she had received. "There's no in between."

"Sorry," Ryu started indifferently, ignoring her anger. "I've never had a relationship like that before, so I don't know what it's like…"

"Oh…" Saya settled down after hearing that, knowing how he felt. She had never really been in a relationship like that either. But, she did know how to distinguish her feelings when it came to those types of relationships.

"But I guess," Ryu continued, voice low. "I probably do, but don't really know it myself…"

Saya couldn't reply to that for the longest time. She knew Sayo had a chance now. It kind of sucked that she told him she wouldn't tell anyone about this. Oh well, better to play a little bit, right? She hoped that what she was about to do wouldn't get him angry or hurt his feelings at all. She hoped.

"Say," she started, looking away from him and towards the ceiling, her smile still present. "what would you do if you knew Sayo liked you?"

Ryu was baffled by the question. He had never really thought about it before. This time, it was his turn to be completely taken aback, and struggle with his words. He thought long and hard before answering. Saya was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea after all. She had expected him to retort with something, even if the retort lacked any form of emotion whatsoever.

"I guess," he started, regaining his normal, unreadable, expression. "I'd be happy. Not that I'd know where to go from there…"

Saya smiled at his answer and they sat in silence once again. She couldn't say anything else to him. It wouldn't be beneficial to either of them. This time, it was Ryu who broke the silence. Saya would come to rue the day she asked him such personal questions.

"So, I told you about Sayo-chan," he started, sounding almost like he was proposing a bargain or something. "Now you have to tell me about Hayato."

"Eh!" Saya exclaimed, blushing a little. She was extremely shocked and confused, so she stared at him.

"So, tell me," Ryu started, without her consent. "what exactly is Hayato to you?" he looked at her with no expression whatsoever.

"Um…" Saya hesitated, looking away from Ryu, blushing a brilliant shade of red. It left him slightly amused. "Well, Hayato-kun is…" she had to stop and think of how to word it properly, "a really good friend."

"Is that all?" Ryu looked at her, probing her for more information.

"Alright, fine!" Saya finally let it out, got bold, and looked the boy right in his face with determination. "I'll tell you how I feel about him if you swear to me you won't ever tell him."

Ryu held his hand up, like you do in court, "I swear."

Saya sighed and looked at the wall in front of her, steeling her nerves. When she felt ready, she looked at Ryu again. "I like Hayato-kun," she blinked once, "more than just a friend."

Ryu had a feeling that was the truth. He could tell by the way she had been blushing uncontrollably when he began this conversation. He smirked, knowing the girl was being one hundred percent serious with him. He nodded a few seconds later, and leaned back on the couch. "I had a feeling."

"Eh?" Saya looked alarmed. She didn't think anyone other than Sayo would be able to read her, ever. But here he is, Mr. Quiet of 3-D. "How..?"

"You were blushing."

Saya thought back for a moment, then realized he was right. "Oh yeah…"

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. A few minutes of silence went by. The two now knew each other's secrets. And they had both sworn to each other not to tell anyone else about it. It was to be their little secret. As of now, there was nothing left for them to say to each other.

Saya stood from the couch. "I think I'll be heading home now."

"Mm," Ryu nodded, thinking of what to say. "Sorry for making you worry about Sayo-chan."

Saya shook her head with a small smile. "I wasn't extremely worried after I found out she was with you," she told him sincerely. "I know I can trust you with her."

Saya headed to the door, slipped on her flip flops, and left the apartment.

Ryu watched the door close and listened to her footsteps disappear. He sighed and stood from the couch. "Now I have to go face the music myself…" he mumbled as he headed to his room to change clothes. He was going to face his father.

* * *

Hayato had walked with Sayo in silence ever since the two left Ryu's apartment. Sayo pulled into the park, earning stares from the people around because of her current attire, and found herself a bench to take a break on. Walking around in heels really took a lot out of a girl. Hayato followed her, just to be on the safe side. He sat next to her as she leaned back, rolling her neck around.

"Hey," Hayato started, looking at her face as she peered over at him curiously. "will you tell me something?"

"What is it?" Sayo blinked, sitting up straight, keeping her eye contact with Hayato.

"Well," Hayato knew she wouldn't really want to talk about it, but he felt the need to know. Not for his own sake, but for the sake of helping his friend out. "I know you probably won't tell me, but…" he looked down at the ground.

"What is it?" Sayo repeated, feeling a bit anxious, but a tiny bit scared after hearing what he had just said. But her curiosity won out.

"It's not really my business but," he hesitated for a moment to steel his nerves, and looked back at her face. "how do you really feel about Ryu?" There, he said it. Now, to watch for her reaction.

Sayo blinked a few times, letting the question sink in. She breathed slowly as her eyes fell to the ground in front of her. She had an unsure expression playing her face. Could she answer this question truthfully when she, herself, didn't even know the real answer when she had asked herself this? No. The answer was no. She couldn't answer a question she didn't know the answer to. There was just no way.

"Honestly," Sayo started, still staring at the ground, eyes swimming with unsure emotions. "I don't even know the answer to that question myself…" she answered truthfully.

"Hm…" Hayato nodded his head, still watching her. He certainly didn't want her to start crying. That would be bad.

"Although, I will say this," Sayo continued, sitting back up straight again, looking him in the eyes again, a certain determination in her eyes. "I've never felt the way I do when I'm around him with anyone else."

Hayato looked a bit surprised, but had a feeling inside himself that this was the case. "Well, in that case," he smiled at her, "I can help you out if you like."

Sayo only smiled and shook her head. "I want to figure it out on my own."

"If you insist," Hayato agreed, knowing to back off if she didn't want any help.

"Thanks, Yabuki-kun," Sayo smiled sweetly, and looked at the children playing in the grass. They were on a two week vacation at the moment, and it was time to have fun. In a way, Sayo envied them a lot. They were still innocent to the evils of life.

Hayato sighed, bringing Sayo's attention back to him. "Hey," she smirked, as an idea sprung into her head.

"Hm?" it was his turn to be the curious one.

"What about you?" she flipped the situation around. However, when an odd look crossed his face, she reiterated. "How do you feel about Saya?"

Hayato felt his face heat up. This was an unexpected turn of events for him. Sure, he had told his best friend about his feelings for the girl, but that was only because he lost a bet. He debated with himself internally for a few minutes, before coming to a conclusion. It was only fair to her if he answered, since he had started this.

"You know," he started, surprising himself with how natural he sounded, with a slight chuckle. "actually, I really like Saya-chan. A lot." He smiled at Sayo, feeling a bit relieved after telling someone other than Ryu.

"I actually didn't have to ask that question," Sayo admitted, and Hayato looked at her oddly again. "I could tell that you liked her."

"How?" Hayato sounded a lot more bewildered than he wanted to.

"Oh come on," Sayo chuckled a little at his obliviousness to his own actions, albeit they were probably subconscious actions, but still. "you flirt with her all the time."

"Eh?" Hayato's face burst into flames. Did he really flirt with her all the time! If he did, he hadn't really noticed it at all. "Do I?"

"Yeah," Sayo chuckled, looking in front of her at the playing children again. "it's pretty funny to watch, too."

Then it was silent. It didn't take too long for the two to stand, say their goodbyes, and part ways. Hayato planned on sleeping when he got back home. Sayo planned on changing, and putting Ryu's clothes in the laundry right away.

* * *

Another boring day at the Zest Cantina. Typical.

Maki, Mitsu and Kiri were working today. Early in the morning, there really isn't too much traffic. However, as noon rolled around, more of the college students began to climb out of bed, and made a bee line to the café for their caffeine fix. Now, the girls were working full throttle. Orders left and right, trays and drinks flying everywhere. Pens scribbling constantly. Man, by the time the lunch rush was over, the girls were about to pass out.

"Man," Mitsu sighed, leaning against the bar. "I hate working during lunch rush…"

"Well, it's not like we can change our shift…" Kiri mumbled, feeling the same way Mitsu did.

"Yeah, tencho-san makes the schedule, remember?" Maki continued with Kiri's topic of choice.

"Yeah, I know that…" Mitsu muttered, pushing herself off the bar and standing up straight.

"Hey, do either of you know what Juri is doing today?" Kiri asked out of curiosity and boredom.

"I think she's looking for cheap apartments," Maki answered with a thoughtful expression.

The crowds had withered, and the customer number fell drastically. Alas, it was time for classes. Finally, some more peace and quiet. Just before Kiri could ask about Saya or Sayo, the door opened. All three girls stood up immediately and welcomed the customer. They hadn't paid attention to who it was, but knew they had to look like they were doing something work related, instead of just standing around, gabbing.

However, this customer in particular knew just what the girls did during down time. He walked down the stairs casually, made his way to the bar, and sat down on one of the barstools there.

"How are you, ladies?" came a suave, yet slightly gruff, voice from behind the girls.

Kiri turned around first, spotting the 'customer', and a smile quickly spread across her face. Mitsu and Maki were right behind her. "Hey Tsuchiya-kun."

"We're hanging in there," Mitsu chuckled with a smile, throwing her arm around Kiri's shoulder.

"Yeah, we finally got a break around here," Kiri joked, a large, playful smile on her face.

"Well, at least you're doing good," Tsuchi broke out his fan and smirked. "Say, have you talked to Saya-chan today?"

"No, why? Did something happen?" Maki inquired, leaning a little on the bar top with a curious look on her face. They hadn't heard anything from Saya or Sayo since last night.

"Apparently, Sayo-chan stayed with Ryu last night," Tsuchi informed them about the frantic search Hayato had told him about earlier.

"What!" all three of them exclaimed, shocked and disbelieving looks on their faces. Were they hearing right? Sayo and Ryu? Together, alone, all night long? How did that happen?

Tsuchi only nodded his head, fanning himself in the process. "Yeah, Ryu let her stay over at his new apartment since they got in so late last night."

"Unbelievable…" Kiri mumbled, stunned by the bold actions of the quietest member of the 3-D group.

"Who suggested that set up?" Mitsu quizzed, a bit more serious now. For all she knew, Ryu could have taken advantage of Sayo. Even though that idea was completely farfetched, it popped up in her head for some reason.

"Ryu let her stay the night since she almost fell asleep on his couch right after they walked in the apartment," Tsuchi explained all that he knew about the situation, which had already been taken care of.

"Wow, that was really nice of him to do," Maki commented, getting out a coffee cup for Tsuchi, since she figured he wasn't here just to talk.

"Well, you know what they say," he began, "love can make you do crazy things." He knew he was way out of turn. He had no idea if Ryu really liked Sayo or not. He just felt like stirring things up a bit.

"I had a feeling he had feelings for Sayo…" Mitsu mumbled, turning around to boil some water.

"Are you sure you know what you're talking about?" Kiri leaned over the bar top to get close to Tsuchi in an intimidating way. Needless to say, that didn't work. It looked more like she was trying to kiss him, or something.

"Don't take what I just said seriously," he admitted. "I don't really know how Ryu feels about Sayo-chan. I just said that to stir things up a bit," he smirked at the last bit.

Kiri backed away, narrowing her eyes at him, trying to read him. It didn't work. So, she sighed and tossed the topic aside. "So, what do you want to drink?"

"Coffee," he answered her with a small wink.

Kiri blushed a little and looked away quickly. "You heard him," she almost yelled at the other two. "he said he wants coffee." She walked away from him and began working on brewing some tea for later. She needed something to distract her from him.

Tsuchi leaned over the bar a little and motioned for Mitsu to come closer. Her curiosity let her do it and she leaned an ear over to him. "What's up with her?"

Mitsu stood normally again, turning her vision to Kiri. Seeing the look Kiri had on her face, a smirk tugged at Mitsu's lips. She leaned over the bar again to reply to Tsuchi. "She's just a little tired, that's all," she lied.

"Hm," Tsuchi nodded his head, sitting back down properly in his seat.

"So," Mitsu started, a certain pep in her voice, "where are the others?"

"Huh?" Tsuchi sounded confused for a moment, but quickly regained his normal voice. "They're out looking for jobs."

"Oh really?" Maki turned around with a smile on her face. "That's good, I hope it goes well for them."

"Yeah," Mitsu agreed with a smirk, "a job would surely benefit them."

"Tell me about it," Tsuchi chuckled.

"Sorry for the wait," Kiri placed his coffee in front of him with the sugar and creamer containers without looking at him. Before he could say thanks, she turned around and walked away.

"Thanks?" Tsuchi mumbled, staring after her.

"Seriously, don't mind her," Mitsu assured him with another smirk.

Tsuchi only shrugged his shoulders, closed his fan, and fixed his coffee. After stirring thoroughly, he took a long sip from the steaming hot liquid. However, he burnt his tongue a little, and soon regretted taking that first sip so soon. He cringed then looked back up at the girls. "So, did you girls get into the colleges you wanted?"

"Yep," Mitsu smiled widely, nodding her head.

"Yeah, even Kiri did, which was quite surprising," Maki chuckled, teasing the already embarrassed girl.

Hearing that, Kiri spun around on her heels. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean!"

"It's just a joke Kiri-chan, don't freak out on me now," Maki defended herself quickly, before Kiri lost it. That wouldn't be good for them if Kiri suddenly burst out in anger on the job.

"Grrr…" Kiri growled under her breath, but composed herself, and rejoined the conversation.

"Hey," Tsuchi started, looking at the girls with a smile. "we've never told you, but the guys and I think you look really cute in your uniforms."

"Really?" Mitsu smiled, "That's so sweet of you."

"Yeah," Maki and Kiri nodded in agreement with Mitsu.

"Thanks," Kiri smiled, trying her best to keep herself calm.

"You're welcome," Tsuchi nodded and took another brave sip of his still steaming hot coffee.

"So, what about you, Tsuchiya-kun?" Maki asked. The subject was meant to be about the college thing, but they had gotten off that topic a little, so the question was really vague.

"What?" he questioned with curious eyes, looking up from his coffee cup.

"Did you get into a college, or are you looking for a job?" Maki clarified, feeling a little embarrassed for her unintended vagueness.

"Oh, that," Tsuchi remembered, "I got into a junior college to build up some of my college credits, then I'll probably transfer somewhere else," he explained proudly.

"Wow, you really got into a junior college?" Kiri, although she didn't mean it, sounded astounded by this.

Tsuchi looked at her pointedly, knowing the tone was unintended, but still felt offended by it. "Yes, Take also got into a junior college, too."

"Yeah, I remember him telling me he wanted to try," Maki smiled, feeling happy that he actually got into the college. She had told him to just go for it when he told her about his intentions.

"That's really good for Takeda-kun," Mitsu nodded her head, a bit surprised that he got in. Nothing against the guy, but it wasn't exactly something that happened everyday.

"What about Hyuga-kun and Yabuki-kun?" Kiri inquired, now quite interested in the topic. If those two morons could get into college, she'd be absolutely sure that the education system was falling…

"Nah, Hayato didn't really want to go to college," Tsuchi shook his head, and took another sip of his coffee. It was a bit cooler now.

"Why not?" Mitsu blinked, a little shocked. She figured if Ryu was going to try for college, Hayato would surely try to compete.

"He said something about being sick of the school routine," Tsuchi sounded a bit thoughtful. "and he didn't have any money."

"That's what a job is for…" Mitsu muttered.

"Exactly why he's looking for one," Tsuchi countered, knowing how Mitsu felt about that. Hayato could point out the obvious so easily, and could just as easily miss it…

"It's needless to say that Odagiri-kun got into a four year university, right?" Maki asked, feeling as if she already knew the answer was yes.

"Yeah, that's for sure," Tsuchi scoffed, knowing the feeling Maki had. "If any one of us could get into university, it's definitely Ryu."

The girls chuckled, knowing the same feeling. All the girls were smart, but there were others who had higher chances of getting into a university than the rest. Kiri got lucky with her choice, while Maki only had minor difficulties with the exam. Mitsu didn't have too many problems with hers, but she heard that Saya breezed through it like it was nothing! And Juri, she had gotten scholarships, plus she scored within the top ten at her university, so she was pretty much set. Sayo hadn't applied for any type of extra schooling, so she had no bragging rights.

Before the conversation could continue any further, a large group of college students entered the café, talking really loudly. The girls greeted them, and made their way over to the table the group sat at. The girls took their orders as efficiently as possible, and returned to the bar to make the drinks. Three of them wanted some cakes, so Mitsu ran the orders back to their boss.

Kiri and Maki were watched by Tsuchi as they prepared the drinks behind the bar. It was amusing to Tsuchi, seeing them working so hard. After all the drinks were ready, Kiri and Maki brought them over to the group carefully, and let them know that the rest of their order would be ready shortly.

The girls' boss had to go into the back freezer for the cakes ordered, so Mitsu had to wait for him to come back. He came back with the cakes, shivering from the cold. Mitsu had to stop herself from giggling at him. She quickly prepared the cakes on plates and served them to the group.

"Sorry for the wait," she told them with a kind, business smile.

"Thanks," one of them smiled and winked at her.

Mitsu didn't reply, she only smirked at him, and then returned to the bar by Maki and Kiri.

"What was that about?" Kiri asked suggestively, a smirk on her lips. Now she was in a teasing mood. Just great.

"You'd have to ask him," Mitsu replied, taking all the fun out of Kiri's little nudge. This wasn't something she wanted to be teased about, since she was already interested in someone else.

"Hey," Tsuchi intervened, a sudden thought popping into his head. His coffee was almost gone… "why don't you girls come with us guys to look for jobs tomorrow?"

"That's a good idea," Maki smiled, leaning on the counter with her hand.

"Maybe they'll have a better opinion of you guys if we're with you," Kiri smirked, whirling around to face Tsuchi.

"Maybe they will," Tsuchi shrugged, fully aware of how much this would inflate her ego…

"It all depends on how you dress, and the way you act," Mitsu began, making an effort to deflate Kiri's growing ego prematurely. "Employers pay a lot of attention to the way you speak and act when they first meet you."

"Yeah, we've been trying our best to make good first impressions," Tsuchi agreed, chuckling a little. "not sure how well we're doing though…"

"Well, we'll tell Juri, Saya and Sayo about the plans for tomorrow," Maki began to wrap up the conversation, seeing his empty coffee cup.

"Alright, I'll let the others know too," Tsuchi nodded, pulling out his wallet to pay for his coffee.

"Why don't we meet up at Tetsu-san's takoyaki stand?" Mitsu suggested. After all, everyone in their groups knew where it was…

"Yeah, that'll work," Tsuchi agreed, the same reason running through his head. He placed the cash on the bar while standing from his seat.

"Alright then, we'll see you and the guys tomorrow," Kiri smiled, moving in front of him and grabbing the payment from the bar.

Tsuchi only nodded in answer, then turned around to leave. Hyuga and Take were waiting for him in the park. They had agreed that they would take a break from the search, then meet back up at the park.

After Tsuchi was out the door, Maki realized something. "I forgot…" she blinked several times.

"Forgot what?" Kiri asked, confused by Maki's actions.

"It's supposed to rain tomorrow…" Maki looked horrified. She turned her head to the girls, and they were shocked by how devastated Maki looked.

"Aw crap…" Kiri muttered, Mitsu right next to her nodding her agreement.

"Man…" Maki hung her head and sighed.

Yeah, this'll be fun. How many shops will they make it to before it pours?

* * *

The next morning, the guys assembled at he takoyaki stand, and waited for the girls patiently, making small talk with Tetsu and Minoru as they prepped for the day. They had dressed decently, since applying for a job was all about the first impression. They wanted to look nice. Honestly, waiting for girls really pulled on their nerves…

Mitsu and Kiri were the first two to show up. They waited until they were a bit closer to the guys before they made their presence known.

"Hey boys!" they greeted, tauntingly. They smiled widely and waved their hands above their heads. The guys all turned around to see what the racket was.

They were actually a bit shocked by what they saw. Well, at least Hyuga and Tsuchi were. Ryu, Hayato, and Take, not so much.

Kiri wore a nice outfit. Quite conservative and elegant, yet youthful and fun at the same time. A white polo shirt with black and brown stripes on the chest area covered her upper regions effectively. Below the end of the polo, a washed, light denim mini, with fray and rip detailing, was fastened on her waist. With her legs exposed, she was walking proudly in a pair of white strap heels. (Outfit Link: http:/ s7118. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= KiriSkirt .jpg)

Mitsu was a lot more elegant than Kiri was. Her upper regions were also covered effectively by her blue blouse, with sleeves that were cuffed in the middle of her upper arms. The bottom of her blouse reached down far enough to cover up the buttons of her black denim mini skirt. Her legs were also exposed quite a bit, so she covered her feet with a pair of black pumps. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= MitsuSkirt .jpg)

Hyuga and Tsuchi had to force their mouths to close before the girls got to the group. They all recovered from their shock and waved a greeting to the two girls.

"Hey," Tsuchi tried to be as suave as possible. "You look great, Kiri-chan."

"Thanks, you don't look half bad yourself, Tsuchiya-kun," Kiri complimented back with a bit of attitude, but not in a bad way.

"Mitsu-chan, you look really good like that," Hyuga smiled, eyeing her up and down some more.

"Thanks," Mitsu smiled, standing with her hands on her hips in front of Hyuga. "business casual really fits you, Hyuga-kun," she winked at him.

Hyuga only chuckled at that. Take turned to look at the entrance of the area, and saw Juri and Maki making their way to the group. Immediately, a smile was brought upon his face, and he waved his arm in the air as a greeting. Seeing his actions, the others turned in the direction he was facing to see what it was. Of course, they weren't completely surprised by who they saw.

Maki was approaching casually next to Juri. She wore a long sleeved cowl neck shirt with different sized green and white stripes on it. She had a green sleeveless handkerchief cardigan hanging on her shoulders over her shirt. Below that, a pair of dark grey cuffed bermuda shorts. Since the outing was a type of business casual thing, she wore a pair of green low-top sneakers on her feet. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= MakiShorts .jpg)

Juri, on the other hand, was a lot more casual than the other girls. She wore a black spaghetti strap shirt under a black and white polka dot camisole. The camisole has white, rope-like, bordering on the bottom, and around the chest area. A pair of black shorts with fold over pockets, held down by noticeable silver buttons. Her gold pumps seemed to have been carelessly thrown on, since they didn't quite match. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= JuriShorts2-1 .jpg)

"Hey," Mitsu smiled widely, seeing what the two were wearing.

"Juri-chan," Kiri started, hands on her hips, pretending to lecture the girl. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Relax Kiri," Maki pointed at the girl before she said something to upset Juri.

"It' okay, Maki-chan," Juri smiled sweetly, knowing the reason Kiri had. "I probably won't be able to stay long," she admitted solemnly, feeling bad that she couldn't help.

"Why not?" Take questioned, a little concerned about her tone.

"My little sister will more than likely be left home alone, and my parents want me to watch her," Juri explained calmly.

"Oh, well," Kiri blinked, taking her hands off her hips.

Silence filled the area for a few moments. The silence was only disturbed by Minoru gasping at something in the distance. Tetsu followed his "brother's" gaze, and gasped as well.

"How can they pull that off?" Tetsu wondered aloud, catching the attention of the younger men around them.

"How can who pull what off?" Hayato felt confused, not being in the loop. He turned to the two men, then followed their gazes, and couldn't speak. His mouth hung wide open, drool threatening to leave his lips.

Ryu, seeing the dumbfounded look on his best friend's face, was debating whether he should turn around or not. He didn't want to be reduced to a stammering fool. Plus, judging by just how dumbfounded Hayato seemed to be, the ones they were staring at were Saya and Sayo. He sighed, this'll be a fun day.

The other guys were also shocked by the two girls' attire. The other girls, on the other hand, knew the two had awesome fashion sense, and had no doubt that they would show up in anything less than brand names.

Saya had on a white tube top with gold skull shaped studs on the band. Over that, were the spaghetti straps of her dark grey pant overalls. Simple black pumps covered her feet. And just for effect, she had on a black fedora with a white band on her head. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= SayaOutfit3 .jpg)

Sayo had on something close to Saya's outfit. The same exact white tube top with gold skull shaped studs on the band covered her torso. Over that, she had a black sleeveless vest. A pair of black shorts sat under the bottom of her tube top. Sayo also had a pair of black pumps on her feet. For the same effect, Sayo also had a fedora on, only hers was brown with a beige band. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action= view & current= SayoOutfit3 .jpg)

"Honestly," Mitsu placed her hands on her hips with a smirk. "why do you two have to show us up every single time we go out?"

"Nothing against you girls," Saya retorted, a smug smirk on her face from the reactions they got from the others.

"We just have the clothes to pull that sort of thing off, you know," Sayo finished, the same attitude radiating from her as well.

"That's only because you have a cousin who is a professional photographer," Kiri fired back, feeling the same as Mitsu.

"Relax, girls," Tsuchi intervened. "you all look great."

"Thanks, Tsuchiya-kun," Kiri smiled at him.

"Well, let's head out," Take suggested, smiling innocently at the rest of them.

"Yeah, good idea," Maki agreed, nodding her head.

"Why don't we split up into pairs?" Hyuga proposed, thinking that the process would go faster if they weren't all going to the same place at once.

"Good idea," Mitsu sounded impressed. And she was, since the idea had come from Hyuga, of all the guys.

"I'll go with Takeda-kun," Maki offered with a smile, starting the process.

"Ok, anyone else volunteering?" Mitsu smirked, looking at the others suggestively.

"I'll drag Kiri-chan along with me," Tsuchi smirked, taking the initiative in this situation. Kiri couldn't say anything, she was too shocked.

"Saya, why don't you help Yabuki-kun?" Sayo suggested with a devilish smirk.

"Uh, sure, I guess…" Saya complied, but glared hard at her cousin.

Hearing that snapped Hayato out of his dumbfounded state, but kept him speechless. His face returned to normal. As hard as he tried to keep his eyes off Saya, he couldn't do it. Not enough will power to prevent such a thing from happening. What sad beings men can be.

"Mitsu-chan, I think you should come with me," Hyuga was practically pleading. "I think you might be able to help me find a few good places to try."

"Hm…" Mitsu pondered for a moment or so. "I guess I can go with you."

"Sayo-chan, you should help out Ryu, even if he says he doesn't need it," Tsuchi told Sayo with a smirk, but the smirk wasn't intended to tease her. It was intended to reassure her that she would be the best choice in the end.

Sayo didn't say anything, she was expecting this outcome. She was sure that, by now, all of them knew about what had happened the night of their graduation. She nodded her agreement, but didn't move from where she stood.

"Juri-chan, you should come with me and Takeda-kun," Maki told the quiet one, who had no partner. In reality, it works quite well for her situation. Since Juri was probably going to be called home, being the third wheel for a little bit wouldn't hurt.

"Ok," Juri smiled.

"All right, we're all in pairs, so let's get going," Mitsu declared, a big smile on her face.

Everyone left in a different direction. Apparently they all forgot it was supposed to rain today…

* * *

About three hours after the group split up, it began to pour. None of them had brought umbrellas, so it was run for cover with each of them. Everyone who was outside when the rain started to come down quickly ran into the nearest shop.

Hyuga had pulled Mitsu into a café close to them. The two sat down at a table out on the covered patio. It was Mitsu's choice. She wanted to look at some scenery instead of boring walls and other people. Hyuga didn't care, as long as they weren't getting soaked.

"Man, I knew I should've worn pants…" Mitsu complained, rubbing her legs. With it raining, the wind was really cold. That doesn't help exposed legs.

"Why is that?" Hyuga asked. He hadn't seen her rubbing her legs.

"Because," she shot, not looking at him. "my legs are freezing from this wind."

"Oh…" Hyuga blinked, then shrugged, feeling a blast of the wind himself.

A moment or so of silence passed over the two. Although, all around them was noise from all the other people there.

"You know what?" Hyuga smirked, a hint of irony in his voice.

"What's that?" Mitsu looked at him from the corner of her eye, still rubbing her legs in a pathetic attempt to keep them warm.

"I've never had a nickname before," he chuckled, pretty sure that Mitsu and the girls all had nicknames they called each other when it was just them.

Mitsu sat up, shocked by this. "Really?"

"Yeah, kind of sucks, doesn't it?" he chuckled some more.

"I guess it does, in a way…" she looked thoughtful for a moment. Her mind was quickly pulled back to her cold legs as the wind blew by again.

"You want something to drink?" Hyuga asked, watching her rub her legs. "I could get you hot cocoa or something."

Mitsu stopped rubbing her legs again for just a moment to look at him and think. "Sure, hot cocoa sounds alright."

Hyuga nodded his head, and got up from the table. "Hey, if you can think of a nickname for me, you can call me by it from now on," he proposed, standing in front of his chair. He walked inside to the counter to order her drink before she could answer him.

She sighed and bent back down to continue rubbing her legs while thinking of a nickname. A few minutes later, he came back out to their table, and she had thought of something.

"It'll be served to us in just a few," he told her, since she looked a bit confused as to why he didn't have the drink with him.

"Oh, ok," Mitsu sat up straight in her chair again and tried hard to ignore the cold. She smirked, thinking that now would be the perfect time to propose the nickname. "How about, Kou-kun?"

"Huh?"

"For your nickname, silly" Mitsu nearly laughed and yelled at the same time. It only took him a few minutes to forget something he said himself! Unbelievable.

"Oh," he remembered what he had said. Honestly, he hadn't expected her to come up with something.

"What do you think?" she was still waiting for him to tell her what he thought.

"Oh, Kou-kun is fine," he smiled, happy that she actually took it seriously.

"Well, at least you're happy with it…" she mumbled to herself, sighing.

"It's too bad that I can't help you keep warm any other way than offering you a drink," Hyuga was half joked, trying to cheer her up a little.

"You better not be suggesting anything dirty…" she glared at him, not liking the joke part.

"No," he began to clarify himself. "by help you keep warm I meant like offering you a blanket or something to cover up your legs with."

"Oh," Mitsu blinked, she had misunderstood his intentions and jumped to unnecessary conclusions. "Well, that's very sweet of you," she smiled at him.

Hyuga didn't say anything more, and looked over toward the street. Sheets of rain fell continuously. He knew it was going to be awhile before they were able to continue their little search. At least they had enough time to go and get quite a few applications done before the rain came.

"Man, this rain really sucks," Hyuga sighed, turning his head back to Mitsu.

A waitress walked over to their table with Mitsu's hot cocoa on her serving tray. "One hot cocoa with extra marshmallows," she set the cup on the table, along with the bill. "Please, take your time," and she left to go back inside.

"How did you know I wanted extra marshmallows?" Mitsu sounded a little suspicious of him, but she was really surprised that he knew.

"Eh, just a good guess," he shrugged his shoulders, being completely honest with her. He hadn't asked her, and he isn't a psychic or anything like that.

"Hm.." Mitsu picked up the cup of cocoa and took a small sip, since it was still hot.

"Careful, don't wanna get burned," Hyuga smirked, seeing her cringe as the hot liquid hit her tongue.

"Shut it," she snapped, setting the cup back down on the table top. "Ow…"

"Told you."

"I said shut it," she snapped again, looking at him haughtily. She sighed and leaned back in her chair.

Seeing that the rain wasn't letting up any time soon, the two engaged in a series of small talks. The topics were completely casual, nothing extremely special. A few of the topics included what they wanted to do with their lives, family, and how well they think their friends will do in college. After a little while, Mitsu's hot cocoa was gone.

"I'll just come out and say it now," she sighed, suddenly changing their current subject.

"Huh?" Hyuga was confused by her change of tone. "What is it?"

She sighed again, gathering her bearings. Boy, this sure was uncalled for in the middle of a giant rain storm, but she felt now was the right time. She just had to get it off her chest. "This may seem sudden, but," she looked him straight in the face.

"Yeah?"

"I've liked you for a while now." There, she got it off her chest. Now, to watch for a reaction.

"Really?" Hyuga blinked a lot. He surely hadn't seen this coming at all. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Mitsu nodded, still waiting for a good reaction. She was being severely disappointed at the moment.

"I thought you liked Tsuchi," Hyuga looked confused now, not knowing exactly how to take this. Now, don't get him wrong, he was delighted that a girl was interested in him, but he was unsure if she was pulling some kind of sick joke to get a good laugh.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Mitsu leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. "Tsuchiya-kun is my type."

"Ok, so why me then?" Hyuga was getting even more confused.

"I don't know," she sighed, being completely honest. "All I know is that I do like you."

"Hmm…" he nodded his head, voice trailing off into the distance. The two sat in a small silence for a moment or two before Hyuga looked directly at her again. "Alright then, we'll take it slow."

"Eh?" Now Mitsu was confused. This certainly wasn't the type of reaction she was visualizing. She thought he'd be so overjoyed that he wouldn't be able to contain himself. Instead, he's being really calm and relaxed. "What do you mean?"

"We'll start with a few small dates and see how we feel afterwards," he explained with a kind smile gracing his cat-like face.

"Uh… Okay…" Mitsu nodded, shocked by the way he was taking this. She felt like the tables were turned. And she didn't like it.

"Hey, why don't we count this as the first one?" he proposed, keeping his smile as innocent as possible.

Mitsu only blinked at him. "I guess we could…"

"Great," he smiled some more, creeping her out just a little bit.

And just like that, their little venture to find him a job and ending up caught in a really bad rain storm, turned into their first date. How cute.

* * *

Kiri and Tsuchi were in a small mall when the rain hit. When they pushed open the doors to leave from one of the stores, they saw the sheets of rain, and let the doors fly closed again. They wandered around, window shopping and chatting with each other. After a while, they sat down under the glass roof in the food court to keep watch on the storm.

"I can't believe we all forgot about this…" Kiri muttered, feeling lousy due to the weather.

"You forgot it was supposed to rain today?" Tsuchi looked at her oddly, a little confused as to who exactly she was referring to.

"Yeah," Kiri closed her eyes, sounding a bit bitter. "After you left yesterday, Maki remembered it was supposed to rain today. Then we all forgot about that today too."

"Oh…" Tsuchi nodded his head, knowing how she felt. He wasn't confused anymore.

Kiri sighed, seeing the black sky above through the glass ceiling. She hung her head with her eyes closed, drooping her shoulders, and feeling even more lousy than before. A lot of passersby were looking at her anyways. She didn't want the attention, it made her feel a bit uneasy.

"Man, too many people are staring…" she muttered, not intending for Tsuchi to hear her.

"Well, you are dressed really nicely," Tsuchi teased lightly after hearing her comment. "why wouldn't they stare at you?"

"Because," she stared at him pointedly, a slight blush painting her cheeks. "I'm already with you…"

"So what?" Tsuchi shrugged, a taunting smirk playing his lips.

Kiri sighed. "For the first time in my life, I wish someone would misunderstand this situation, for my sanity…"

"You really want people to think we're on a date?" Tsuchi was amused and confused. He never thought she would think something so strange, especially after the way she was acting yesterday.

"If it'll make other guys stop staring at me suggestively, then yes," Kiri huffed, hating to admit that she wouldn't mind others thinking they were dating. Even though she herself didn't really mind that.

"Well, in that case," Tsuchi leaned on the table and knew he was going to have fun with this. "I'll make it convincing."

"Huh?" Kiri didn't follow, confused by his words.

Tsuchi didn't say anything to her. Instead, he grabbed her hands with his and looked at her with a slightly sickening sweet look in his eyes. Kiri had to fight herself in order not to cringe and blush. It was hard.

Just a single moment later, Kiri couldn't feel the prying eyes on her back anymore. The tactic worked! She'd have to remember to thank him for this later. She looked around discreetly, looking for any of the guys she had seen staring outright at her earlier. They were all gone. Seeing this, Tsuchi let go of her hands and leaned back in his seat comfortably. Kiri sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Tsuchiya-kun," Kiri smiled at him feeling grateful.

"No problem," Tsuchi shrugged, pulling out his fan from his pocket.

"No, I mean it," Kiri looked directly at him, a slightly serious expression there. "I feel I should repay you, but I'm not sure how to…"

"That's easy," Tsuchi smirked, flicking his fan open and fanning himself a little.

Kiri blinked a few times, unsure of whether she would regret this or not. She waited for him to continue.

"One, just call me Tsuchi," he told her honestly, no hidden meanings intended. "And two, you can go out with me a couple times," his smirk returned to his face, as he watched for her reaction.

Kiri couldn't say anything at first. She was debating whether she had heard correctly or not. After her brain lost the debate with her heart, she saw the smirk on his face and couldn't hold back the blush any longer. She blinked rapidly as her face flushed a bright red. Quickly, Kiri looked down at her lap, contemplating whether she would agree or not. She had been wanting to find the perfect time to confess for a couple weeks now, so why not take advantage of the situation? Because the truth was, he had the upper hand already. There was no way she could grab it from him. Not now, anyways.

"Ok…" she sighed, defeated by a force unknown to her, and looked back up at him. "I'll do it."

"Good," he smiled childishly and continued to fan himself.

"But, I don't really get it," Kiri felt it was about time for a little revenge, or at least some kind of attempt to get some extra information. "why is dating you the way for me to repay you?" she looked up at him with a mask of confusion.

"Well," Tsuchi shrugged his shoulders, figuring he'd have to get it out sooner or later. Now just happened to be a prime opportunity. "I like you, and it would be fun."

Kiri was speechless at the first part, and completely missed the second half. However, the second half was exactly the reason she had suspected from the beginning. "You're not joking, are you?"

"No, I'm being serious," Tsuchi smirked. Not a taunting or teasing smirk, but just a content smirk.

"Hm…" Kiri sighed and leaned back in her seat. She felt a little tense. The reason was not beyond her, either. She knew she liked Tsuchi, but wasn't sure exactly how much she liked him.

Silence sat with them for a moment while Kiri debated with herself again. This time, it was about whether she should tell him her feelings or not. Since he told her his feelings, her heart told her she should be reckless and spit it out already, while her brain told her it was the only logical path to take. The chatter of the other young people around them kept the atmosphere moderately bearable. After a few minutes had gone by, Kiri looked up at Tsuchi, a certain determination in her eyes.

"Ok, since you admitted to it," she began, cheeks heating up already. "I like you too."

"Whoa," Tsuchi blinked. He hadn't been expecting that, so his hand fanning him stopped abruptly. "wasn't expecting that."

"Well," Kiri responded with a little attitude in her voice, "I wasn't expecting you to say anything like that either, so we're even."

"I guess so…" Tsuchi was still being affected by Kiri's sudden confession.

"So, Tsuchi," Kiri started, finally feeling like she had the upper hand, using his nickname since she had been given permission. "would you like to share lunch with me?"

Tsuchi snapped out of his little daze, hearing her use his nickname, and felt his stomach's unspoken agreement to her question. "Sure."

So, they ordered lunch, ate, and talked about all kinds of things while waiting for the storm to blow over.

* * *

Not ten minutes after the groups split up, Juri got a phone call from her parents, asking her to come home and look after her younger sister. Juri understood her situation, and relieved Maki and Take of their third wheel. She didn't do it bluntly, either. She casually excused herself for the day after she had hung up the phone. Maki and Take were kind in return. All they were happy about was, at least they had gotten almost three hours of searching done before the rain invaded their space.

At the moment, the two were sitting down at a family restaurant for lunch.

"Mm, this is really good," Take commented with a smile after swallowing a bite of his food.

"Glad you like it," Maki smiled back at him.

"Do you and the girls come here often?" Take inquired, looking up at her from across the booth.

"Well, we did for a while back in the first half of the school year," Maki answered, thinking about it a little. "But we didn't have enough time after December."

"I see…" Take nodded his head, then hungrily took another bite of his food.

Maki chuckled at him. His behavior was so utterly cute and childish, she couldn't help herself. Take looked up at her queerly, wondering what she was laughing at. However, he shrugged his shoulders and swallowed.

"So," he started, getting her attention. "can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Maki smiled, then took a bite of her food.

Take sighed, nervous about what she would say, "Um…" he hesitated. Maki only looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. "About our relationship.." he continued hesitantly, peeking up at her to see a reaction.

Maki tensed a little, knowing this was going to be an awkward conversation. It wasn't that she didn't like Takeda, she was just unsure of what way she liked him. Quickly, she forced herself to relax, and continued to listen while eating her food.

"I think we should take it slow," he told her, confident he was going in a good direction. "since we're both going to college and all, I know keeping in touch will be a bit difficult."

Maki was shocked, she couldn't respond to this new, mature side of Take. It left her speechless. She blinked a few times before taking in the proposal that had just subtly presented to her. Upon regaining her composure, she smiled at him kindly.

"I agree," she nodded, thoughtfulness coating her face.

Take's head shot up, a look of shock on his face, since he hadn't expected her to agree with him, "Really?"

Maki only nodded her head once and took another bite of her meal. Take sat back in his seat, relieved to hear that, and sighed heavily. While chewing, Maki thought hard on whether or not she wanted to give him her note. Ever since she wrote it at the sleep over as a dare, she's kept it with her every time she was to see Take. As she had told the girls, she was unsure of if the words on the paper were truly how she felt, or a complete fabrication she came up with on the spot to satisfy the conditions of the dare. The two continued to eat their meals in a comfortable silence with chatter all around them.

While Maki sat on her inner debate, Take was now concerned with another topic: getting himself a job. It was crucial for him to acquire and sustain a job so he could pay for his further education. Cause, let's face it, his mother surely didn't have enough money to put him through it. Therefore, his only option left was to push through hard and support himself through the journey.

Take was jolted out of his mental processes when he heard the sound of rustling and zippers. He looked up at Maki to see if it was her, or someone behind him. It was Maki. He sighed in his mind but not out loud, and quickly became curious as to the reason why she was digging through her purse. Maki had decided to give him the note since they were thinking of actually trying to make this work. She figured he should know how she really felt, since she couldn't find the courage to tell him herself. After a few seconds of searching, she pulled it out and checked to see if it was the right note. Sure enough, it was the one. Taking a deep breath, she turned to him and held out the folded piece of paper toward him.

"Here," she told him, her voice ever-so-slightly shaky, as he reached his hand out to receive the note.

"What's this?" he seemed very confused. He honestly hadn't expected her to be the love letter type.

"A couple weeks ago the girls dared me to write it," she explained, even though the explanation was extremely vague as to what the contents were related to.

"Oh, okay…" he nodded and brought the note close to him. His curiosity won him over quickly and he opened the note without a single second of hesitation. The words he read made his heart race, eyes widen, and pulse quicken. He allowed himself to finish reading before looking up at her with bewilderment in his eyes. "Is this for real?"

Maki had been taking in a fork-full of her meal when he asked. So, there was this short, tense, silence between them as she chewed and he stared. Once she swallowed, she looked him dead in the eye, smiled, and nodded as an answer.

Take couldn't speak. This turn of events made his heart almost stop beating. He was so shocked and excited that he almost forgot to breath and enjoy the moment. Maki had, essentially, just told him that she wanted to date him! Hot damn! He felt as if he could jump up out of his seat and dance.

"So," Maki smiled after swallowing her food, looking up at him. "do your best through school, okay?"

Take looked a bit surprised by the comment, and quickly nodded his head as an answer to her. "You do your best too, okay?" his child-like smile graced his features.

"I will," she nodded.

They continued eating their meals, talking about random topics, waiting for the rain to stop. And who knew how long that would take?

* * *

Saya and Hayato were running from the rain down an empty street, littered with closed family stores. They both had their hands over their heads as they ran, a sad attempt to keep the water out of their sight. Hayato, seeing a small awning for a vegetable stand that was left up, quickly grabbed Saya's wrist and dove under it to save them. When under the small shelter, they both caught their breath. Saya looked down at her outfit with an expression of disappointment and irritation.

"I really liked this outfit too…" she muttered, lightly rubbing the legs of her overalls.

"Well, at least it isn't ruined," Hayato pointed out, earning a glare from the girl. "Just saying…"

She sighed, knowing he was right, but hated the feeling of the water running down her skin in places she didn't want it to. Plus, the strong blasts of wind didn't help her either. They only made her cold and gave her goose bumps.

"Do you want my jacket?" he asked out of nowhere, startling her.

Saya's head whipped around in an instant to face him in question. "Are you sure?"

He gave a noncommittal shrug as an answer to her question. But, he knew he had to give a verbal answer when she gave him a look that almost made him laugh. "Don't really want you getting sick on my watch."

Saya crossed her arms over her chest, the look she gave Hayato still occupying her face. "Oh really?" came her half smart aleck, half sarcastic remark.

"I wouldn't want you to be sick," he continued, the conversation slowly turning into a light argument. "You wouldn't want to go anywhere with me if you were sick."

Saya shot him a confused look, and he slapped a hand over his mouth real quick like. He hadn't realized what he had said until he saw her reaction. "What?"

"I mean…" he struggled to find the words that would make the atmosphere bearable again. "Uh, you would be mad at me," he continued, trying too hard to not be obvious that he had screwed himself. "You know, for getting you sick, I don't want to be blamed for that."

She thought for a second to figure out how plausible the answer was. It didn't take her long to realize that he had said something he hadn't intended for her to hear anytime soon. So, being the cunning young woman she is, she decided to play with this. "Even if I were mad at you because you got me sick, why would I not want to go somewhere with you?"

"Well, normally girls who are mad at guys don't want to see them at all," he argued, leaving out a crucial part of the real answer that she was looking for.

"But why would I blame you and not the weather?" Saya began to use a bit of reason, attempting to squeeze anymore hints out of him. "I mean, the weather would have played more of a part than you."

"Because I was the one who dragged you out here to help me look for a job."

"But you can't control the weather," she smirked, "Why would you drag me, of all people, out here to help you look for a job, anyway?"

"I figured you would be able to help me out the best, that's why…" he looked away, seemingly embarrassed to admit that he, the leader of Kurogin's 3-D, needed help with anything at all.

Saya smirked again, finally spotting a weakness in him. "I see," she continued to try to squeeze out information; she was so close to hearing what she wanted. "So I'm just here to make you look better, is that it?" she put on this little façade of being hurt and feeling used, turning away from him.

Hayato peeked back at her only to see her back facing his. He mouthed a curse and slapped his forehead for sounding like such a dick. He sighed quickly, turning around to face her backside, stopping in awe for a few seconds. He stared at her bare back, only to realize it was covered in goose bumps. Suddenly, he realized what had started this mess. He sighed again. "Listen, that isn't it at all."

Saya, in reality, did feel used in a small sense by the events of that day, but hadn't wanted to show it. She considered this a good thing, a very good thing, for him and the guys to do. And, she knew that she and the girls were the best people for the guys to go to. Even if a few of them might end up as dates, it was still a good move on the guys' part. So, by complete accident, she glanced back at him with the true hurt in her eyes, waiting for him to continue. She could tell that he had seen the look and felt bad.

"I knew you could help me figure all this stuff out so I didn't have to humiliate myself in public, and I might actually get hired by someone," he explained sincerely. "I knew you wouldn't ridicule me in front of other people, and I knew you would be able to explain it to me in the best way possible so I could understand it."

Normal people wouldn't really take this as something sweet. But, seeing as it was coming from Kurogin's 3-D leader, it meant a lot. Saya, even though she wasn't looking at him, could feel and hear how sincere his words were. She could tell how much what she had done for him that day meant to him. She sighed, knowing she had blown that simple little question and remark way out of proportion. Before she could respond, she felt warm fabric embrace her bare back. Startled, she turned around quickly, hands flying to her shoulders, looking at him and glancing down to see what the fabric was.

Hayato had placed his jacket tenderly on her shoulders so his cold fingers didn't tough her skin.

Saya couldn't speak. The offer was sweet of him. Really sweet. But for him to actually take it upon himself to just give her his jacket out of kindness was just downright romantic. She deducted quickly that he didn't quite realize the significance of the gesture, but let it slide. She really was freezing.

"I saw the goose bumps on your back," Hayato told her in reference to the jacket when she continued to stare at him in shock.

Upon finally reaching the soil of Earth again, Saya nodded her head with a warm smile as she clutched the edges of the jacket on her shoulders and pulled it closer around her torso. His body heat was still on the inside of the jacket, and she didn't want it to go to waste.

"Thanks."

"It's the least I can do after all of your help today."

Hayato knew she would probably connect a few dots after what had ensued just moments ago. But, whatever she put together, would probably make it easier for him later on down the road.

* * *

Ryu had brought two umbrellas with him in case the weather decided to turn sour and it actually rained while he was out. And wouldn't you know, it decided to pour. Good thing for Sayo that he brought a spare. The two teens were walking in silence, already done with their search, near the park by Ryu's apartment. The two were safe from the water until the winds decided to pick up, splashing water on them relentlessly.

"Let's go," Ryu muttered, grabbing Sayo's wrist, dragging her behind him in question, heading towards his apartment building.

"Where?" Sayo let out before they exited the park. She didn't object to him holding her wrist, she knew it was just to keep her behind him so she didn't get lost.

"My apartment to dry off," he told her, straight to the point, still dragging her behind him.

"Oh," Sayo nodded, understanding fully what his intentions were. Honestly, it was a really good idea, and inexpensive on their part.

The two kept a fast pace, trying not to run, toward his apartment. The rain wasn't letting up a bit. It was almost as if it were encouraging them to get there.

The two closed their umbrellas as they reached the covering of the stairwell at his apartment building. He kept his lead, his firm grip still encasing her delicate wrist, making sure she wouldn't get lost along the way. For that, she felt a bit upset, knowing that he knew for a fact that she knew how to take care of herself and how to get around on her own. Nevertheless, she let him do his thing, not truly caring enough to stop him.

They came to his apartment door, a slight feeling of déjà vu overcoming her, reminded of their graduation night, at the sight. He fumbled with his keys, attempting to find the correct one while holding the umbrella and not letting go of her wrist. Sayo had to hold back her laughter at how silly he looked. Finally, unable to stand it himself, he turned to her for a brief second.

"Will you hold this for a second?" he thrust the umbrella at her.

"Sure," she smirked, taking the umbrella so he could unlock the door.

Just seconds later, the door was unlocked and swinging open. A strong gust blew through the hallway and he ushered her inside the apartment so the rain wouldn't get in. Unfortunately, even though they were using umbrellas, the two were thoroughly soaked.

"Just stay here for a second," he told her, while taking his boots off and taking the umbrellas from her. "I'll go get you some towels and you can sit on the couch."

Sayo only nodded her answer as she knelt down to take her heels off. He hastily made his way to his bedroom, tossing his boots down on a plastic mat, the umbrellas in a tin holder, and then hopped into the bathroom for the towels. Meanwhile, Sayo stood in the entrance of his apartment, waiting patiently for him, observing all the details she had missed the last time she was here. Before she knew it, he was back in front of her with three towels.

"Thanks," she smiled, wrapping one of them around her waist, another around her shoulders, and used the last one to dry off her feet.

"Make yourself comfortable," he offered, turning to go back into his bedroom. "I'm gonna take a quick shower."

Sayo nodded even though he couldn't see her, and made her way to the couch with her towels. He closed the door behind him, leaving things to her imagination. She put the driest towel on the cushion, keeping the other two on her person as she sat on the couch. She didn't want to get the couch wet.

She heard the water running behind her and knew it wouldn't be too long before he was in front of her again, only this time probably in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, something she wasn't used to at all. She thought he got her heart pounding with just what he normally wore. The warmth of his hand, despite the cold rain, still lingered on her wrist where he had held her for so long. She sighed heavily, knowing she was thinking too much. Shaking her head roughly, she balled her fists in her lap.

"No," she whispered to herself, "there's no reason for him to do something of that nature…" She wanted to believe that the words weren't true, but from what she's seen and heard him say and do, every arrow pointed down the road of 'just friends' to her. "He wouldn't feel like that for me anyways…"

It was something that she had honestly been trying to tell herself for a while now.

The water stopped with a loud squeak, and she immediately forced herself to find a different topic for her mind to dwell on, or seem to have been dwelling on for the whole time he had been in the shower. Like, what she wanted to have for lunch. Or what radio station they should listen to. Just like that, it hit her: she didn't know what kind of music he listened to. Come to think of it, she really didn't know that much about him, even though she's known him for a while now. But now wasn't the time to be curious George.

A moment later, his bedroom door swung open and he emerged, clad in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt, just like she had secretly predicted. The single-second glance she took of him immediately confirmed her guess. Her heart was unstoppable. She kept her head down so he couldn't see her red face.

"How does ramen sound?"

Sayo, startled a bit by his sudden question, jumped a little and blinked. "Uh, sure."

"I only have shrimp," he told her, reaching into his cabinets for the bowls, "that okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded again, watching his back as he moved about the kitchenette, putting the kettle full of water on the stove.

Sayo forced herself to act normal, so things wouldn't get awkward.

The two ate their ramen together, talked about a few things, and discussed what their plans were now that they were done with high school. He told her about the university he was accepted into and how he and Hayato were going to be roommates during that time. She smiled and told him how envious she was of her cousin, who actually had a plan, while she didn't.

* * *

As each couple got to know one another, in the back of their minds, they truly knew that the game of fate had, in fact, begun quite a while ago.

_To be continued…_


	17. Chapter 11

_**A/N: A short transition chapter to start a new segment of the story. Things are going to get a little complicated...**_

* * *

**Chapter 11: And So, Life Goes On**

A few weeks after the group search, Hyuga was the only one who didn't get an interview. Hayato started working immediately, while Tsuchi, Take, and Ryu worked part-time due to school. Sayo, being the only one of the girls to not go to some sort of college, felt bored all the time. Her parents didn't pressure her to find a job, nor did they pressure her to go to school. They let her walk her own path. Most of the time she helped her aunt during the day as an assistant, visited her sempai afterwards for a little relaxation time, then, on particularly stressful days, headed down to the Dream Star club to have some fun. She hadn't seen any of them for at least a month now. It was about time the girls got together.

Hayato was in the process of moving in with Ryu while working. Ryu didn't really notice it too much since he was always busy with his studies. Tsuchi and Take were having a hard time keeping in touch with everyone else. Hyuga was busy sulking at home and helping his mother around the house while searching for a job.

"Hey, have you heard from the guys lately?" Kiri asked, leaning over their table at a new café that had just recently opened up. She had a curious look on her face.

The others all shook their heads in unison. Kiri sighed, sliding her arms off the table and leaning back into her chair.

"They're all pretty busy, this is to be expected, Kiri," Juri reasoned, sipping her latte carefully.

"I know…" Kiri drawled, sighing again.

"Aw, does Ki-chan miss her Tsuchi bear?" Saya and Mitsu sang teasingly with suggestive looks on their faces.

Kiri's eyes shot wide open, her head snapped in their direction, a disheveled and embarrassed expression on her face, complete with red cheeks. "EH!"

The other girls busted out in laughter, completely at Kiri's expense.

"It' not funny!" Kiri half yelled at them, she didn't want to draw attention to herself.

The girls slowly came to a stop. Saya and Mitsu had to wipe the tears out of their eyes, they had laughed so hard.

"I kind of miss them too," Maki admitted quietly, staring deeply into her dark coffee.

At that, the girls all got quiet. After all, most of the excitement in the past few months had involved the guys. In a way, the memories were kind of bittersweet.

"Hey, Sayo," Saya started, turning to her cousin, to lighten up the mood, "you've been going to the Dream Star right?"

"Yeah," Sayo nodded, turning her gaze off her drink and to her cousin, "what of it?"

"Oh, and why have you been going there?" Mitsu asked, that suggestive look returning to her features.

Sayo glared over at Mitsu, "Stress relief."

"Stress relief?" Kiri questioned, completely baffled as to why Sayo, the one who isn't in college, would be stressed. "What are you stressed about?"

"I've been helping Ayumi-oba-chan," Sayo answered calmly, reaching for her drink on the table. "And I've been listening to Kumiko-sempai's complaints…"

"Oh, I guess that would stress anyone out…" Kiri backed down, understanding the reason.

"Wow, how can you sit there and listen to all her baggage?" Mitsu was amazed by Sayo's capacity.

"Well, it's usually about how much she misses her former students," Sayo shrugged, speaking in between sipping her drink, "so I can relate in a way."

"So, miss regular, have you gotten close to the handsome Dj yet?" Saya nudged Sayo in the side with her elbow teasingly, a sly, suggestive smirk on her face.

Sayo slapped her hand on her side to protect herself, and whipped her head back to her cousin. It took her a second or two to realize who Saya was talking about. "Oh," Sayo blinked, thinking back to her previous few visits to the dance club. "Yeah, I guess you could say that…"

"Eh!" the other girls leaned in to stare at Sayo in shock. Hadn't she been acting completely strange around Ryu just a few weeks ago?

"I never knew you would be like that…" Maki muttered in surprise, thinking in the wrong direction.

"Way to play the field…" Mitsu smirked.

"Man, it must be a hard choice between hot and hotter, huh?" Kiri leaned back, acting as if she felt Sayo's "pain".

"Hah!" Sayo was a little confused by what they were saying. Then it hit her, quite quickly after Kiri's comment rolled out of her mouth. "You so have the wrong idea."

"What?"

"I don't like Dj Tama like that." Sayo dead panned with a disgusted look of un-amusement on her face. "I just think he's getting used to seeing me there once a week, sitting at the bar with a drink in my hand, that's all."

"So you like Odagiri-kun like that?" Saya smirked, knowing Sayo hadn't intended to give herself away like that and took advantage of it.

"Eh?" Sayo snapped her head in Saya's direction once again, cheeks becoming pink at her realization of her stupid, not to mention completely obvious, choice of words. "That's not what I meant by that either."

"Don't worry, we won't tell him, we promise." Juri smiled sweetly.

Sayo only sighed at her defeat. The girls had finally found out her dark secret. Now her mind was going to start flipping around, like a fish out of water trying to escape a fisherman, thinking about the possibility of the girls giving away her secret. God only knew what was to come now.

"So, who came out with a date that time?" Juri smiled innocently, though the question certainly was sneaky, sly, and suggestive.

Mitsu, Kiri and Maki were taking a sip of their caffeinated drinks. The question caught them off guard and, therefore, caused them to choke on the hot liquid in their throats. Their shocked and embarrassed faces whipped in Juri's direction, completely baffled as to how they should answer the question.

"What makes you say that?" Kiri asked through her coughs.

"Nothing really," Juri answered honestly, "I just thought it was a plausible guess."

"Good inference skills, Ju-chan," Saya and Sayo smirked simultaneously.

"Thanks," Juri smiled back, still waiting for an answer to her question.

"Um…" Maki began, unsure of how to say it, and not wanting to hear their reactions either. "Do you remember the letter you had me write the weekend before graduation?"

"Yeah," Juri nodded her head, waiting for Maki to continue, along with everyone else.

"Well, I gave it to him…" Maki looked at her lap as her face turned a bright shade of red.

"Really?"

A meek nod was the only answer they got.

"What did he say?" Juri asked before Kiri or Mitsu had the chance to ask something rude.

"He said we should take it slow," Maki slowly lifted her head again, "since we both have college and all that…"

A silence hung around them as they all slowly grinned at the good news. Maki finally had her head up straight again, only to see their grinning faces.

"That's a good thing, Maki-chan," Saya smiled genuinely, Sayo next to her nodding with the same smile.

"Thanks you guys," Maki smiled sweetly.

"Since Maki-chan was able to admit it, I guess I can too," Kiri hardened her resolve to tell the others, even if they had already guessed the outcome. "I told Tsuchi-kun that I like him."

The girls said nothing in response, only smiled and grinned at her confession. Kiri folded her arms across her chest, accompanied by an expression on her face that let off she wasn't too amused by their reactions. The others kept smiling and grinning nevertheless.

"That's a good thing, Kiri," Juri reassured her irritated friend kindly.

"I know that," Kiri frowned, wanting to hear Mitsu's confession, since she was the only other one who had been shaken by Juri's earlier question.

"How did he react?" Saya inquired, grinning at Kiri's frown.

"He was shocked," she told them, eyes closed. "Just like I was when he said he liked me…"

"What?" Mitsu chuckled in surprise and amusement.

"Yeah," Kiri opened her eyes and smirked smugly.

"Who confessed first?" Saya questioned, a look of confusion on her face.

"He did," the smug smirk on Kiri's faced turned into a smug grin.

"Wow," Sayo nodded her head, agreeing with Kiri's feeling of triumph. It was truly a feat if the girl could get the guy to confess first.

"I know," Kiri giggled lightly at her own success.

"Well, I told Hyuga-kun too," Mitsu admitted solemnly, feeling better, and less embarrassed about it, now that Kiri and Maki admitted they had a variation of that conversation too.

"Oh?" Saya threw her suggestive face back on and peered closely at Mitsu.

"Yes," Mitsu nodded her head, not really wanting to go into any details about it.

"How did it happen?" Kiri, ever curious and nosey, inquired upon the subject of which Mitsu had not wanted to venture into deeply.

Mitsu sighed, "If you must know, I came up with a nickname for him…"

Mitsu received an array of odd, questioning looks from around the table. She sighed once again and elaborated more, much to her own dismay. "He felt a little left out because he was the only one of the guys without a nickname…"

"What was the nickname you gave him?" Juri asked in her sweet, innocent voice, even though she wasn't quite as innocent as she came off to be.

"Kou-kun," Mitsu told them. After getting more odd, confused looks from the girls, she further elaborated the origin of the name. "It's from his given name, Kousuke."

"Oh," the other girls nodded their heads, finally understanding.

"So, Saya, how did you and Yabuki-kun do?" Kiri questioned suggestively with a sly grin on her face.

"Nothing really happened…" Saya shrugged her shoulders, ignoring the suggestiveness oozing out of Kiri.

"Aw…" Kiri pouted, "no fun."

Saya only stuck her tongue out at her. "Don't poke fun at me, him and I have a difficult relationship…"

"Only because you two argue all the time," Sayo pointed out, grabbing her drink from the table and bringing it to her lips. "not to mention all the flirting that happens…"

Saya went red in the face, "Eh!" she whipped her head to face her cousin. "What do you mean?"

"It is kind of obvious," Maki murmured, agreeing with Sayo.

Saya's head whipped to Maki now. "Hah?"

"Yeah, the way you two bicker is almost like watching a married couple…" Kiri threw some beans out there with a small smirk, trying to hold back her laughter.

"That's just not right," Saya griped while glaring at Kiri for her bold comment. "We are NOT like a married couple in any way, shape, or form."

"Except for the way you argue…" Mitsu struggled to keep her laughter to herself as well.

"I should seriously hurt you guys…" Saya muttered bitterly, grabbed her drink, and chugged it down.

* * *

This day was truly a miracle. All the guys were not busy with anything, and actually had time to meet up with each other to hang out for a while. So, they arranged to meet at the usual spot, Café de Rovne.

"So, how's college treating you guys?" Hayato asked with a smirk on his face, lounging back in his seat.

"Ugh, don't remind me…" Take sighed, putting his drink down on the coffee table, making a sour face at the mention of school.

"It's okay for me," Tsuchi shrugged, his signature fan out.

Ryu only shrugged. His mouth was occupied by his glass at the moment.

"Man, I'm so bored!" Hyuga complained.

"Where'd that come from?" Hayato looked over at him, a confused look pointed at his friend.

"I wish I had a job already…" Hyuga muttered, mouth a flat line due to his own misery.

"Oh, you meant with your life right now," Hayato nodded his head, realization hitting him. "I got it."

"So, Take, how're things with Maki-chan?" Tsuchi smirked at his friend, beginning to fan himself.

"Oh, we've agreed to take things slowly," Take smiled, blatantly ignoring the suggestiveness of Tsuchi's question.

"What?" Hayato, Hyuga, and Tsuchi all leaned toward Take with astonished expressions painted on their faces. Ryu wasn't all that interested.

"Are you serious?" Hayato sounded incredulous.

"Yeah, turns out she feels the same way I do," Take kept smiling, the truth made him fly.

"Good for you, Take," Ryu congratulated his long time friend with a small smirk.

"Thanks Ryu," Take smiled wider and grabbed his drink from the coffee table.

"Hey, who remembers the name of the club we went to after graduation?" Tsuchi asked absently, still in slight shock from Take's news.

"I think it had dream in the title, but not quite sure," Hayato thought hard, "why?"

"Just a thought," Tsuchi shrugged, "no reason."

"We should go back there some time," Hyuga mentioned, thinking dreamily about all the girls in the club, "it was nice."

"Yeah, plus they had good music," Hayato nodded in agreement.

"Mmhm," Take nodded happily too.

Ryu shrugged, lounging back into the couch comfortably, thinking about a various amount of things. Sayo just happened to be in the mix of everything. Why was he thinking of her anyway? He shrugged again, dismissing the question he couldn't really answer.

* * *

Later that day, Sayo made her way to the Dream Star to blow off some steam. After the girls split up, Sayo had gone home for a couple hours to do some chores for her mother. Hours later, she left the house, after enduring her mother's bickering, and went to see Kumiko. However, she was greeted by Kuroda, informing her that Kumiko was on her way to an interview since Kurogin had closed down. If Kumiko got the job, she would be moving to the islands. This news added to her stress.

Sayo was just lucky enough that the club was open after all that. Then again, it had been hours upon hours of stress, so she didn't care what time it was.

Sayo hopped in the line, which wasn't that long to her pleasure, and waited for entrance. She saw a sign by the bouncer that stated they were holding a dance contest that night.

Perfect! What better way than to compete with, and blow away, others to relieve stress. It would make her feel better emotionally, and fulfill her ego at the same time.

The line moved quickly, and before she knew it, Sayo was at the bouncer.

"Well, hello miss regular," he greeted her with a friendly smirk.

"Hey there," she returned the smirk playfully, "how's it been so far?"

"A lot of women tonight," he replied with a nonchalant shrug, "most for the contest," he jabbed his thumb toward the sign.

"Hmm, so that makes a lot of competition for me then," she nodded, a thoughtful smirk playing her lips.

"You're entering too?" he seemed a little confused.

"Just to have some fun," she told him with a smile.

"Well, I hope that you do have fun," he opened the doors for her and motioned for her to enter.

"Thanks," she nodded and headed in.

Inside, quite a bit of women were on the dance floor in showy, extremely decorated dresses that suggested they did this as a profession. Sayo, on the other hand, was one of the only girls who sauntered into the club in a casual outfit and actually registered for the dance competition. Dj Tama was doing his thing up on stage, mixing the tracks like an expert, which he was.

Sayo was the last person to register for the dance competition as number 29. Right after she got her number badge, the registration table was cleaned up and the music lowered in volume. Dj Tama's voice flooded through the speakers in place of the music.

"How are you all tonight?" he greeted with a smirk and confidence. He was received by the crowd cheering and hollering. "Just so you ladies know, the registration for the dance competition is over now, and the actual competition will begin in roughly an hour."

After Dj Tama made his announcement, quite a few of the women on the dance floor took a small break and headed for the bar for a drink. Sayo on the other hand, had stayed at the bar until five minutes before the start of the competition. At that point, she began her warm ups while the other women had already done so. The other women, not wanting to look bad, knowing what was at stake with the competition, also kept practicing alongside Sayo. The five minutes passed, and it was time for the competition to start.

"All right ladies, it's that time," Dj Tama announced, excitement filling his voice as he spoke. "Would all competitors please adjourn to the dance floor, all others please leave the dance floor, thank you."

Sayo smirked, seeing all the women from before returning, a certain confidence in their strut. Sayo stayed in the back to observe all of her competition. Dj Tama, up at the turntables, watched as all the women gathered, and spied Sayo in the back, looking quite casual, in the sea of Latin dance costumes. His face contorted in curiosity, wondering why she was still on the dance floor.

Yes, she certainly stood out among the crowd of fringe, sequins, and skimpy dresses. A beautiful, loose black boat neck long shirt over a distressed washed denim mini. Black tie-up, strapped wedge heels with leopard print on the wooden souls. Bangles and bracelets on her left arm, a watch on her right arm, and a beaded necklace around her neck. If she won the competition, a lot of the women would be quite irritated to say the least. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = L_g0013078026. jpg )

"Good evening ladies, how are you all tonight?" Dj Tama greeted his contestants after they all made it to the dance floor. He received a loud mess of cheering and screaming as a reply. "Good thing you're ready for this competition," he smirked.

A lot of the women shouted their reply; Sayo only smirked. "All right then," his smirk turned into a large grin. "let's get this thing started!" The women hooted and hollered again.

A few hours of dancing later, the final five contestants stood on the dance floor.

Contestant 17, Orihara Kanon, a beautiful young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She wore a light pink sheer lace dress with corset tie-ups in the front, on the sides, and in the back, with darker pads covering her boobs. Her long, died blonde hair bounced around in the Lolita curls she had them styled in. (Dress Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG245. jpg )

Contestant 6, Kanamori Aina, another beautiful young woman, seemingly in her late twenties. Her dress had a bit more detail on it. It was a funky fuchsia color, a little on the dark side, with one boob covered with pink fabric flowers, the other covered by strips of the dress fabric that wrapped around to the backside of the dress. Her light brown hair was pulled back stylishly in a bun with strands hanging in her face effortlessly. (Dress Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG1368-1. jpg )

Contestant 23, Shimatani Ryoko, an older woman, about in her early thirties, had also made it through. Her dress resembled something that was of a burlesque manner; red corset torso with an asymmetrical, sheer black ruffle trimmed skirt, one full length sleeve, and a black band around her upper arm. Her long black hair was wavy to add character and presence to her entourage. (Dress Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG306. jpg )

Contestant 11, Inoue Miu, another young, beautiful woman, seemingly to be about 19 or 20 in age. It was possible that she was the one person in the entire club with the least amount of clothes on. Her dress covered the bare minimal, it bordered inappropriate. The top was a halter wrap connected to a bra with some sequined design on it, twisting together and connecting to the skirt, which was basically a band covered by knee length strands of the fabric over it. She had her brown hair up in pigtails, streaks of blonde running through it. (Dress Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG520. jpg )

And the last contestant, number 29, was Sayo. The only finalist in casual clothing. The other four scowled at her, not quite understanding how she had made it in. Mostly though, it was their pride running high, not wanting to admit that some girl with no proper training could possibly beat them at their own game. After all, they had all taken classes and participated in contests before. Sayo had not.

"Well, ladies," Dj Tama's voice rang through the speakers as the audience hooted and hollered in encouragement. "I congratulate you all for making it this far."

A roaring of clapping occurred suddenly. Whistles flew through the air, obviously from the guys in the club.

"This is the final round," Dj Tama smirked, "I bet you're anxious to know what you have to do…"

No response from the girls was given. The crowd was still making all the noise.

"What you have to prove now is…" he let the suspense drag on until the four girls, not including Sayo, looked as though they couldn't handle it anymore. His smirk grew larger, that was certainly intriguing. "free-style dancing. It has to be really good, too."

The other four girls looked a little distraught. They weren't dressed for that sort of dancing. Sayo was the only one smirking. The crowd made lots of noise again.

"You have to make them," Dj Tama pointed to the crowd, "scream your name, asking for more!"

Sayo closed her eyes as the other four eyed the crowd with slightly irritated and worried expressions on their faces. They hadn't foreseen this outcome. What kind of Latin dance contest is this!

"And, you have to do it in the style of a dance off," Dj Tama added the final rule. Oh, this would be so much fun to watch. A five person dance off. And all women, no doubt.

The four girls made a star, each of them a point on the edge of the dance floor. Sayo stretched her limbs out like she would normally do before dancing with the girls out on the streets. The other four kind of just stood there blankly, trying to think of some kind of routine they might be able to pull off.

"How about you go in numerical order?" Dj Tama suggested, noticing that they were hesitant to start. He put on an extended remix of the song "Pon De Replay" by Rihanna for them to dance to.

Sayo knew what she was going to do.

First up was Kanamori Aina, number 6. She was hesitant to start, free style not being her strong point. She was really unprepared for this outcome, and ended up just half-assing the routine in accordance to the beat of the song. She got an okay reception. The other three girls were slightly worried, yet a little more confident in themselves, after Kanamori performed. Sayo didn't watch, knowing it would only make her uneasy.

Inoue Miu was up next. She felt more at ease with this style of dancing than the other three, being younger and all, and had fun. Her reception from the crowd was greater than Kanamori's by far. She smirked at her opponents as she returned to her place. Kanamori scowled at her for her overconfidence while the other two grew even more irritated. Sayo blatantly ignored the attempt of intimidation.

Orihara Kanon was up after Inoue. She tried too hard, it seemed, and was reflected by the crowd's reception. She sighed and returned to her place.

Shimatani was left feeling like she had to redeem her own confidence. She was, after all, the oldest contestant left. No way was she going to let a bunch of young girls steal her prize from her. She walked into the center of the dance floor and danced like her feet were one fire. The crowd showed a positive reaction, but the reception was still a little lower than Inoue's. It seemed like it was decided.

Sayo was the final performer. She had been nodding her head to the beat the whole time. The crowd got really quiet, which told Sayo that it was her turn. They were waiting for her to go. She opened her eyes, a blank expression on her face. She was in sync with the music and made her way to the middle of the dance floor. The crowd, and other contestants, were in anticipation. She occupied her mind with thoughts of dancing on the streets with the girls and told herself to have fun. So she did. Mindlessly, she began dancing with all her heart, even mouthing the words to the song, and making it seem like she wasn't even wearing heels, the way she was dancing. The crowd exploded as they watched her dance effortlessly. The other four contestants stared at her in awe. They couldn't believe it.

The song slowly came to an end and Sayo stopped dancing. "Well, it's clear we have a winner," Dj Tama interrupted the roaring of the crowd. "Congratulations contestant number 29, Tsukioka Sayo-chan!"

The other four girls, clearly lacking good sportsmanship, left the club in an irritated huff. Dj Tama hopped off the stage and escorted Sayo to a place where they could talk and actually be able to hear each other clearly without having to scream. A private party room in the back.

"Congratulations," Dj Tama shook Sayo's hand firmly with a smile.

"Thanks, though I didn't really plan on winning anything…" Sayo admitted sheepishly, shaking his hand firmly.

"Well, that's usually how it goes," Dj Tama laughed, letting go of her hand.

"So, what exactly did I unintentionally win?" Sayo smirked in amusement.

"Well, I'm a teacher at a dance studio that's owned by the same person as this club," Dj Tama explained, crossing his arms over his chest. "The first place prize in the contest is a free month of classes for you and a guest with me over there."

"Oh, cool," Sayo smiled widely, "I've never taken a dance class before, this should be fun…"

"Really?" Dj Tama sounded completely surprised, which was so evident on his face. "I never would've guessed…"

"Why do you say that?" Sayo seemed a little confused as to why he would say that.

"Well, you dance so well, I just thought," he trailed off, looking straight at her face. There was a silence as he finally came to a conclusion that had been eluding him for weeks. "Ah!"

Sayo blinked at him.

"You're one of the girls who were here a month ago for your graduation party!"

Sayo blinked some more. It took him that long to figure that out?

"Wow, I'm sorry, everyone's been calling you 'Miss Regular' that it didn't hit me right away, even though it should have…" he seemed a bit embarrassed.

Sayo blinked one final time and then broke out in a small fit of laughter. This caused him to gaze at her queerly, as he did not understand what had come over her.

"Sorry," Sayo told him in between large breaths for air as her laughing subsided. "I don't blame you for not realizing it right away," she continued. "I mean, you see so many faces in one night, I wouldn't expect you to remember every single one clearly anyway."

He didn't say anything to that, he only smirked. He shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out the tickets for the free month of classes and held them out to her. "Here, your prize."

"Ah, thank you," Sayo nodded her head as she accepted them from him.

"I look forward to working with you, Tsukioka-san," Dj Tama smiled.

"Me too," Sayo smiled back. "And, you can call me Sayo-chan, it's easier."

"All right," he nodded his head and opened the door for her. "After you."

"Thanks," she nodded again and left the room, Dj Tama following behind her.

"Back to work," he mumbled to himself, waving bye to Sayo.

Sayo left, black flip cell phone in hand, speed dialing Saya, as she exited the club, class tickets in hand.


	18. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Just Gotta Let Go**

The next week or so consisted of the normal routine. Everyone working, attending school, or finding something to occupy themselves with. Put simply, they were all busy. The lack of communication had Sayo going a little stir crazy. Not just Sayo either, Hyuga too.

Sayo and Saya had began to attend the dance classes three times a week. It was free, so why not take the opportunity to learn something new and have some fun too? It was too good of a bargain to pass up.

Meanwhile, Ryu and Hayato sat in their apartment, watching television, studying, and sleeping all at the same time.

Hayato sat on the floor in a white tank top with a pair of sweat pants on, a small bowl of popcorn in his lap. Ryu lounged on the couch, a book in his hands, black tank top and sweats covering his body. Hayato would occasionally laugh at something on the TV, causing Ryu to get curious and take a peek to see what was happening. After deciding he didn't really care, he returned to his book.

"Hey, Ryu," Hayato turned his head to look back at Ryu.

Ryu reluctantly pulled himself out of the book and turned his gaze to his roommate and best friend. "What?"

"You should get out soon," Hayato advised.

"What?" Ryu was a little confused by the wording Hayato had used.

"Go out and have some fun," Hayato elaborated. "take your mind off studying for once."

"…" Ryu didn't answer and looked away. He didn't want to show any kind of weakness at all.

Truthfully, whenever Ryu wasn't studying, he found his mind drifting back into the past few months. What some would call hell, but to him and his friends, the best time of their lives. He missed the daily routine of doing nothing, hanging out with friends, and doing certain pointless things. Of course, he missed his teacher too. But most of all, he missed… her.

He shook his head, pulling himself out of that train of thought. Studying seemed to be the only remedy for that right now. "Maybe…" he told Hayato absently, returning his attention to his book.

"I mean it," Hayato pressed on, stubborn as ever. "I know your studying helps you keep your mind off things you'd rather not discuss, but you really need to have fun every now and then."

Ryu stiffened at Hayato's words. How did he know that?

"I'm your best friend," Hayato continued, seeming as if he could read Ryu's mind. "I know when something's wrong with you."

"I get it," Ryu nodded once, to try to get Hayato off his back.

"Ryu," Hayato, at this point, was sitting straight up on the floor facing Ryu. "You can go see her, you know."

Ryu stiffened again. God damn this psychic man! How in the hell did he know all this!

"You have her number, don't you?"

Ryu remained quiet.

"As far as I know, she isn't going to college and doesn't have a job," Hayato reasoned some more, trying to get his friend to talk. If anything, though, it was shutting him up even more. "She's probably bored all day long."

Ryu struggled real hard to try to keep his focus on the contents of the book in front of him. Hayato was bringing this up way too early.

Hayato waited a little longer before sighing in defeat, knowing he'd shut him up for the rest of the week probably, and turned around to continue to watch the TV. In his head, he knew he'd be the same way if he were in Ryu's position anyway, so he wasn't one to talk.

* * *

Take sat at the bar in the Zest Cantina, watching Maki and Mitsu bustle around like chickens at feeding time. There were quite a number of college students in this morning for coffee. Take smirked and chuckled at the thought of him being the same way in no time at all. The only times he ever got to see Maki anymore were on his days off of both school and work. She usually had to work on those days, so he would visit her at work. He waited patiently for her to be able to take a breather.

Almost twenty minutes later, Maki leaned on the counter in front of Take and sighed heavily.

"I hate morning shifts…" she grumbled, head in her hands.

"Oh, it isn't that bad…" Take tried to reassure her.

Maki only gave him a look that told him that she really couldn't believe his words.

"I mean," he continued warily, "it could be worse…"

"Don't say that."

Take shut his mouth. This wasn't the time to poke fun. She was stressed enough. "How's school?"

"A pain," she sighed, sounding a little bitter towards the subject. "How about you?"

"It's going better than I thought it would," Take smiled, feeling a bit proud of himself.

"Well," Maki started, her stressed frown turning into a smile of happiness. "that's good for you, Takeda-kun."

"Thanks."

"Man, morning rush sucks," Mitsu complained, finally returning to behind the bar.

"Morning, Mitsu-chan," Take greeted with a smile.

"Oh, morning Takeda-kun," Mitsu smiled back politely, realizing she had probably just unintentionally interrupted something. "Uh, did I interrupt anything?"

"No," Take shook his head. "You're all right."

"Oh, okay," Mitsu sighed, leaning on the counter like Maki.

"How's Saya-chan?" Take directed his question toward Mitsu. After all, they attended the same college.

"Oh, she's doing okay," Mitsu answered. "Her and Sayo have started taking these dance lessons."

"Sounds fun," Maki piped up, getting a little excited.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Mitsu rolled her eyes. "They got them for free too."

"What? No way!" Maki stood up straight.

"How did they manage that?" Take sounded a little confused.

"Apparently, Sayo won this dance contest over at the Dream Star," Mitsu explained. "and the tickets for the free dance lessons, with Dj Tama might I add, were the first place prize."

"Whoa!" Maki was shocked, but not in disbelief. She knew, just as well as Mitsu did, that Sayo was an awesome dancer.

"That's great," Take sounded a little as if he were in shock or something.

"You okay, Takeda-kun?" Maki asked, a little concerned for him.

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, I felt the same after Saya told me that she was going to be going for a month…" Mitsu seethed a little.

"Too bad she couldn't win enough for all of us to go together…" Maki shrugged. "Then again," she thought a little. "I don't think I'd be able to find the time to go."

"Yeah, no kidding," Mitsu agreed. "I honestly don't know how Saya can juggle her school work and fun like she does."

"Hmm," Take nodded his head. All this talk about Saya and Sayo brought his thoughts to Hayato and Ryu. How were they doing?

* * *

"Kumai-san~" Sayo sang as she entered Kumai Ramen Shop.

Kuma turned his head toward the entrance of his shop. "Oh, Sayo-chan!"

"How've you been?" Sayo asked, a wide smile on her face, as she sat down at the closest seat to the counter.

"Good, and you?" Kuma replied, refocusing on making the ramen.

"I could be better," she chuckled a little, not wanting to alarm anyone.

"Well, do you want some ramen?"

"Uh, sure, why not," Sayo looked up at the menu. "One soy ramen please."

"One soy ramen, coming up," Kuma called, even though there were only other customers in the place.

Sayo smiled and waited patiently. Kuma refocused on work. This gave Sayo some time to think. Not that she needed it, though. She had all the time in the world to think right now. So many memories attempted to plague her constantly, and some occasionally actually doing so. Mostly the ones that were about Ryu.

Staring at the table, she remembered the karaoke group date. How amazed she was by his voice. How much she enjoyed, and yet loathed, his presence in the separate room. Especially how embarrassed, and yet appreciative, she was when he complimented her singing voice. Realizing she was trapped in her memories yet again, she shook her head firmly.

"Yours is next, Sayo-chan," Kuma told her as he headed back into the kitchen after bringing another customer their ramen.

"Ah," Sayo jolted, looked up, and followed Kuma with her eyes. "Mm," she nodded her head. She sighed and looked back at the table top. Attempting to think of something other than Ryu, she tried to think about some of her past that didn't involve him at all. Needless to say, it didn't work. When she thought of Takeshi, it led to Ryu. When she thought of Kumiko, it led back to Ryu. Even when she tried to think of Saya, it led right back to Ryu. Always back to him. Why couldn't she take her mind off of him!

The other customers in the shop were businessmen on lunch break, so they ate fast, paid, then left. Just after the men left, Sayo's ramen was ready, and she was the only customer left. Kuma, noticing her blank stare, decided to talk to her. He brought her ramen to her and sat in front of her, "Here's your order."

Sayo blinked a couple times, registering the words. "Oh," she nodded, accepted the bowl and pulled out a pair of chopsticks from the cups on the table. "Itadakimasu."

Kuma smiled as she slurped up a bit of noodles. "So, it's been years, how's school?" he asked.

Sayo looked up at him with a mouth full of noodles, blinked once, and swallowed. "I'm not attending any university," she told him, a small smirk on her lips.

"Really?" he looked shocked, which he was. "I thought you would for sure be furthering your education."

Sayo shrugged and slurped up another bit of noodles before it soaked up and got cold.

"I mean, you're really smart like Noda and Shin," Kuma tried to put pieces together in his head, but the puzzle just wasn't fitting. He didn't understand her decision at all. "Why not?"

She swallowed again. "I'm not sure of what I really want to do…"

"You should talk to Yankumi about that."

"She's in the islands," Sayo replied calmly. "I thought you knew that?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," Kuma chuckled, embarrassed that he had forgotten.

"It's okay," Sayo reassured him and slurped up quite a bit more of her ramen.

"How is Noda these days anyways?" Kuma questioned, reminded of his old friend; they hadn't talked in years.

Sayo held up one finger and swallowed hard. "He's a photographer," Sayo answered with a warm smile on her face. "And he has a girlfriend too."

"Eh!"

Sayo only nodded her head as she pulled up more noodles with her chopsticks.

"Wow…" Kuma blinked, taking in the news. Something hit him suddenly and he had an eager look on his face. "Is her family name Fujiyama?"

Sayo blinked curiously at him, still slurping the noodles up into her mouth. It took her a minute, a whole unbearable minute for Kuma's curiosity, for her to swallow them properly. "No, it's Tanaka."

"Oh…" Kuma nodded slowly, seemingly a bit disappointed.

"Why?" Sayo asked, now curious herself.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard the stories of our days at Shirokin, right?" Kuma smirked, a feeling of nostalgia at the mention of his old high school.

Sayo nodded her head, pulling more noodles up from the bowl.

"Well, Noda had a crush on our English teacher, Fujiyama-sensei," Kuma explained a little.

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing about that from Takeshi-kun," Sayo nodded her head just before she slurped up her noodles.

"Well, he actually got her to say yes to a date with him sometime," Kuma finished up. "So I was just wondering…" he trailed off, waiting for her to swallow before he went further.

"No, he told me about that date," Sayo shook her head after she swallowed the noodles that had occupied her mouth. "They had fun but, their age difference was a bit much for Fujiyama to handle, so it never went past date one."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Sayo nodded and grabbed the meat out of her bowl.

"Hmm, poor Noda," Kuma sympathized.

"Why do you say that?" Sayo became curious again and bit a piece off her meat. Damn that accursed cat.

"Well, he seemed to really like her, you know?"

Sayo shook her head as she chewed her meat. Kuma waited for her to finish and swallow again. "He found Miku-san," she started, swallowing the rest of it before continuing. "the same night Fujiyama told him they couldn't go any further."

"Oh? How did that happen?" Kuma hadn't heard this story.

"It was his first job as a photographer," Sayo continued, setting the rest of her uneaten meat in her bowl to soak up the soup. "and she was a model at the agency."

"Oh, wow, go Noda," Kuma nodded his head, understanding the difference between Fujiyama and a young model.

Sayo smiled at his comment. "They started talking to each other and found out that they went to the same college," Sayo began to round off her story. "and things just took off from there."

"Wow, that's such a good story," Kuma smiled innocently, for a large youth in his early twenties.

"Yeah, I was amazed when Takeshi-kun told me about it too," Sayo smiled dreamily. She shook it off quickly and returned to slurping up her noodles. Sappy stories like that led her mind right back to Ryu. For what reason, she couldn't pinpoint, but she knew it happened. Remaining indifferent to the emotions was her best defense as of right now.

* * *

Mitsu lounged on the couch of her and Saya's shared dormitory. She sighed loudly, a magazine resting open on her stomach. Leaning her head back on the arm of the couch, Mitsu closed her eyes and sighed again. The magazine on her stomach began to slip off her stomach and onto the floor. Feeling the slick pages sliding over her skin, her eyes shot open and she looked down at her stomach with a puzzled expression. Failing to grab the magazine in time, Mitsu flailed her arms around like a bird falling out of the sky in mid flight before landing her hand flat on the spine of the magazine as it lay open on the floor, cover up. She grumbled, gripping the spine as she pulled it up. The magazine closed under her grip, losing her place.

"Man, now I've gotta find my place again…" Mitsu muttered to herself as she turned the magazine from back cover to front. Mitsu would have opened the magazine to search for her place, but a name she missed the first time on the front cover caught her attention. Realizing just whose name it was, she blinked twice before leaning in closer to the magazine cover, just to make sure she had read correctly. "EH!"

Upon hearing the loud, astonished voice of her roommate, Saya scrambled out of her room and peered out into the living room of her dorm from her doorway. "What? What is it Mi-chan?"

"You're kidding me!" Mitsu asked, no one in particular, in the same loud voice. There was an expression of many emotions on her face. Astonishment, jealousy, confusion and irritation.

Saya saw the magazine and immediately calmed down. "You're upset over a magazine…?"

Mitsu heard her roommate and sharply glared at her. Saya suddenly felt curious, and leaned back a little. "You didn't tell us she was in an _An An_ issue!" Kiri practically yelled at Saya.

"Huh?" Saya was thoroughly confused by this comment and took a step out of her doorway into the living room. "Who was in an _An An_ issue?"

"Sayo, obviously." Mitsu deadpanned, feeling seriously betrayed and left out.

"What?" Saya then quickly made her way to Mitsu, snatching the magazine out of her hands to check the girl's accuracy. Saya held the magazine closer to her face the second time she read it. For sure, it had Takeshi's name on it.

Mitsu said nothing, waiting for a crappy cover story for not telling anyone about it. Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned back onto the arm of the couch again.

Saya's eye twitched a couple times before she lowered the magazine and took a seat on the end of the couch not occupied by Mitsu's feet. "Man, I knew I should've agreed to attend that session…" she mumbled to herself.

Mitsu lifted an eyebrow in confusion. This wasn't making any sense. How could Saya, of all people close to Sayo, not have known about this article? It just didn't seem possible. "Why is that?"

"Well, this article is really featuring Takeshi-kun and his work," Saya explained, seeming to have calmed down a little. "Sayo was there to make it seem like he was doing an actual shoot for another magazine, while other photographers were shooting photos of them for this article."

"Uh-huh, and why weren't you there?" Mitsu asked, waiting for the wonderful answer that was sure to be related with school or work, or something else that had her busy at the time.

"I had too much school work to do," Saya sighed, knowing that the answer was expected by her roommate. "I couldn't let myself go and lose my hard earned grades for it."

"Hmm," Mitsu pondered for a moment. "I guess you're right."

"Well, I better get ready for class…" Saya said as she stood from the couch. As she turned towards her room to go change her clothes, Mitsu's face contorted in confusion again.

"Didn't you have class like three hours ago?"

"Not for school," Saya called back in answer from her room. "The dance class."

"Oh yeah," Mitsu nodded her head. "Forgot about that…"

Saya chuckled at her friend, and quickly threw on a tank top, a pair of leggings and a skirt over them. She emerged from her room with her dance shoes in hand, stopping by the end of the couch.

"So, how good is DJ Tama?" Mitsu smirked.

"Hmm?"

"Is he a good dancer?" Mitsu continued. "A good teacher?"

"Well, I actually don't dance with him," Saya answered truthfully, earning a puzzled look from Mitsu. "Sayo is his partner."

"Then…" Mitsu stumbled on her words. "then who do you dance with?"

"I dance with another instructor there," Saya smiled, feeling like she'd won an unspoken battle of wits. "His name is Kawamura Jiro."

"Ah…" Mitsu nodded, feeling the defeat of the same unspoken battle.

Saya looked at the time on their cable box by the TV. "Crap, I'm gonna be late…" Saya hurried to the door and slipped on her flip flops by the entrance. "Well, I'm off."

"Have fun and be safe," Mitsu sent off her roommate, smiling from the couch and waving a hand.

Saya bounded out the door, a smile on her face, and the door slammed shut behind her.

Mitsu sighed. "Man, this is going to be a long night…" she muttered, eyeing the magazine, which now lies on the coffee table in front of the couch. "I miss Kou-kun…"

* * *

Hayato sighed. Working the late shift always made him hate having to work at all. Man, why was a night shift ever thought of! Having to deal with all these people at night drained him instantly. Truly, it almost made him regret ever applying to this coffee shop. Almost. However, the shop got enough of a mixture of customers that it made him feel a little more comfortable. He thought that being surrounded and fawned over by girls would be enjoyable. Now he realized that it wasn't as pleasant as he had once thought. On the other hand, he didn't have to sit around the apartment all night alone, trying not to disturb his best friend.

Hayato grumbled inwardly, a smile on his face outwardly as he greeted customers and took orders. Lately, all Ryu ever did was study. Nothing else. It was really starting to drive him nuts. He didn't have anything to do since everyone else was busy doing something. He felt like he was the only one with even the slightest bit of free time on his hands. Tsuchi and Take were always busy with their school work as well. And if it wasn't school with them, then it was work. And poor Hyuga, the only thing that guy ever did nowadays was look for a job.

Hayato remembered earlier that same day when he had shut his roommate/best friend up for the rest of the day because he was talking about a certain friend of theirs. Ah, how he could read Ryu like a book at times. That certain friend had steadily become a big weakness of Ryu's. Well, let's not label it as a weakness. Let's just say, a "sensitive subject". Or better yet, a "precious person". No matter what the label, this person meant a great deal to the guy. So much, in fact, that the subject had kind of become somewhat of a taboo around Ryu. It made him shut down and ignore the rest of his surroundings completely. Especially if the subject is sudden and pushed onto him.

However, Hayato could fully understand. After all, he was kind of that way when it came to the subject of another one of their friends. But, he had to admit, it was a lot of fun to tease Ryu.

"Ahem."

"Huh?" Hayato, startled out of his thoughts, blinked a few times and saw an angry customer's face in front of him. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" he apologized and took his order. Hayato hadn't realized he was so into his thoughts.

After he gave the guy his coffee, Hayato sighed again. Man, this was so tiring! And thinking about his moody friend made it even more tiring than it already was. There were no more customers in line and Hayato found himself glancing around the front for something to do.

The door opened and three girls walked in, chatting in a lively manner. They made their way to the counter and stood in front of the cash register, observing the menu. Hayato had bet down to grab some more napkins to refill the container at the station. He wasn't paying much attention to the girls until he heard a familiar voice. Curious, he quickly grabbed the napkins and stood up in his spot. Of course, he was shocked when he saw Juri standing with two other girls, and he didn't recognize either one.

"How can I help you ladies?" he greeted with a smirk, placing the napkins on the counter in front of him.

The girls' attention moved from the menu on the wall to Hayato. The two he didn't recognize seemed to be slightly taken aback. Juri just blinked a few times before realizing who was in front of her.

"Yabuki-kun…" Juri smiled slowly, steadily feeling more confident in her assumption.

"Hey Juri-chan, how've you been?" Hayato smiled, ready to take their orders, but at the same time anxious to ask about the other girls…

"I've been good," Juri answered sweetly as her two companions stared on in disbelief. "I see you got a job finally. This was a choice of Saya's, wasn't it?" a hint of amusement and suspicion was evident in her voice at the last question.

"Yeah, it was her idea…" Hayato chuckled.

"Excuse me, Kitano-chan?" one of the two girls interrupted the conversation. Juri looked over at her friend innocently. The girl leaned in toward Juri's ear and whispered, "How do you know this hot guy?"

The other girl nodded eagerly, as she wanted an answer too.

"Oh, yes," Juri answered happily. "This is Yabuki Hayato, a friend of mine from high school."

"Hi there," Hayato nodded, still waiting for the girls to order. Though, it wasn't like there was a huge line behind them, because honestly, there wasn't. It was starting to get pretty late.

"Yabuki-kun, these are my roommates, Mizuki-chan, and Fuyumi-chan," Juri introduced the two girls with her, who each smiled and nodded at the mention of their name.

"Nice to meet you," Hayato nodded again. "So, would you like anything?"

"Oh, sorry, got caught up in the situation.." Juri sounded highly embarrassed and peered back up at the menu quizzically.

"I'd like a caramel vanilla frappuccino," Mizuki smiled at Hayato, ogling at the way he nodded silently as he punched in the order in the cash register.

"I'd like a French vanilla cappuccino please," Fuyumi smiled politely as she ordered, and forced herself not to stare at the hottie behind the counter.

"And I'd like…" Juri trailed off, trying to decide on her drink of choice. "Uh, give me a mocha latte please," she returned her view to Hayato as she told him her choice and smiled.

"All right, they'll be out in a moment."

"Thanks," the girls headed to a table by the window. Mizuki and Fuyumi sat with their backs to the front of the store so they could ogle Hayato some more.

"Ne, Kitano-chan," Mizuki started, getting Juri's attention.

"Yes?" Juri inquired with a smile.

"Do you like that Yabuki guy?" Mizuki was curious. Let's face it, Hayato is seriously good looking. Hardly any girl can stand his charms.

"Me? Oh no, not me…" Juri shook her head, realizing that they thought she and Hayato had a relationship. Their relationship could never go anywhere past friendship. He wasn't her type.

"Oh… Well, that's a relief…" Mizuki sighed, but suddenly realized something else. What if he liked someone else already! Her plan would be ruined. "Does he have a girlfriend?"

"Oh, I'm not sure…" Juri shrugged, telling the truth. After all, it had been months since she'd seen Hayato last, she wouldn't know. The only thing she did know was that he and Saya were getting closer.

"Oh," Mizuki nodded slowly. "Guess I'll just have to ask him then…" she mumbled to herself.

"Hey, don't be rude to a stranger in a public place…" Fuyumi frowned at her roommate.

"Oh, no I wouldn't do that!" Mizuki flailed her arms in front of her face.

Fuyumi only looked at her suspiciously. This girl could be up to no good. Have to be careful.

Hayato came by their table a few minutes later with their drinks. "Okay ladies, here's your order." He placed the drinks in front of their respective owners. "And here's your check, just stop by the register after you're done to pay."

"Hey, Yabuki-san," Mizuki called just as Hayato was turning to leave the table.

"Yes?" he looked back at the girl.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked blatantly. Fuyumi slapped her hand to her forehead and let out a long, exasperated sigh. Juri blinked at the girl, eyes wide in shock.

Hayato paused for a moment before responding to the question. This was a surprise, and a first to be honest. "No, but I'm interested in someone else, sorry," he answered and walked away casually.

"Rats…" Mizuki grumbled and took a long drag of her frappuccino.

"Eheh…" Juri chuckled a little, earning a glare from Mizuki in the process. She just looked down at her latte and remained quiet.

Back over at the counter, Hayato couldn't believe he had just admitted that to a total stranger. He didn't even know the girl, yet he told her the truth, just like that. Man, what the hell was happening to him! Now he really could understand how Ryu was feeling.

* * *

Saya slipped through the door, barely making it in time. Breathing heavily, she flops down in a hair and puts on her dancing heels. After she has them on securely, she walks over to the back wall to drop her bag and flip flops on the ground by everyone else's things. The class was just beginning, thank God, she didn't miss anything. Spying Sayo, she hurried over to her cousin's side and joined her in the line.

"Hey there," Saya whispered to Sayo.

"You barely made it on time," Sayo smirked, keeping her eyes on their instructors. There were two other instructors for their class besides DJ Tama and Kawamura Jiro.

"Yeah, Mitsu had me going," Saya chuckles and diverts her attention to the instructors as well.

"Well, today we'll be teaching you the steps to a simple Waltz," the head instructor informed everyone in the class.

After a little explanation and demonstration by the one female instructor and DJ Tama, the students all dispersed and began their lesson. There were just about as many guys in the class as there were girls. Saya and Sayo, being special cases, were paired with DJ Tama and Kawamura Jiro. The female instructor wandered around the room pointing out what the women in the class were doing wrong and helped them out. The head instructor did the same for the other male students. Saya and Sayo had their own personal instructors thanks to Sayo winning the dance competition.

"Well, it seems like you're enjoying this class," Dj Tama smirked at Sayo as they waltzed around the floor.

"Well, I think it's because I have a great teacher," Sayo smirked back, minding her feet and his movements compared to her own.

"Humph, maybe," he chuckled and his smirk turned into a grin. DJ Tama continued to instruct Sayo on her footwork and movements.

Meanwhile, Saya was with Kawamura on the other side of the room. Saya had her eyes on her feet every five seconds, trying to make sure she didn't step on his feet. Kawamura just kept instructing her, paying attention to her actions. This Kawamura Jiro is a hottie. All the young girls were mostly in the class for him and DJ Tama. Tall, serious expression most of the time, soft black hair, dark brown eyes, and a fair complexion (AN: Think Mukai Osamu). Seriously, he was hot. Saya felt a little out of place dancing with Kawamura, but she also felt special at the same time.

After the class was over, DJ Tama asked Sayo if he could talk to her before she left. So, Saya decided to wait for Sayo right outside the door of the building. Saya looked up at the stars, holding her dance heels in her hand. She was so into her own mind that she didn't even realize Sayo had been standing next to her. When Saya finally snapped out of her trance, she was startled by Sayo.

"Whoa!"

"Calm down, it's just me," Sayo chuckled at her cousin's behavior.

Saya sighed in relief with a hand over her chest. "Don't do that."

"Sorry, you were kind of out of it," Sayo shrugged.

"Oh, well…" Saya trailed off. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Sayo nodded and the two headed off.

"So, what did Tama ask you about?" Saya smirked, too interested to let it slide under her nose.

"Oh," Sayo smiled and looked down at her feet, as if she were embarrassed.

"Oh?"

"He uh…" Sayo breathed in deeply before continuing. "He asked me if I would like to be his official partner…"

"…" Saya blinked at the answer. "What?"

"He thinks I have untapped talent," Sayo continued, knowing this was going to lead them down a long, winding road, "and he wants to train me so I can become his official partner."

Saya was speechless, and Sayo had predicted this. Sayo knew she would have to wait for all the information to process in Saya's mind before the conversation continued. So the two walked on in silence for a few more moments. Then, out of nowhere, came a squeal of excitement from Sayo's right side. Sayo grimaced and shut one eye at the deafening sound.

"Are you for real!" Saya was skeptical. "He really asked you that?"

"Yeah," Sayo nodded slowly.

"And you're sure he means he's gonna train you to be a professional, right?"

"Yeah, that's why he said 'official partner,'" Sayo continued to nod slowly. Man, this processing of information was taking longer than Sayo had anticipated.

"Wow, you're gonna become a professional ballroom dancer," Saya breathed, completely shocked by this turn of events. "I honestly didn't see that one coming."

"Yeah, me neither," Sayo chuckled again at the irony. Who knew that her love of dancing would lead her to professional ballroom dancing? She only started dancing on the streets with her friends for fun.

"You're gonna say yes to him, aren't you?" Saya looked back at Sayo.

"Probably," Sayo smirked, thinking of all the possibilities that could come of it.

"Oh! That's just so exciting!" Saya felt like she couldn't contain herself.

"You can tell Mitsu when you get back to your dorm," Sayo told her cousin, knowing what she was thinking immediately. "I'll tell my mom and your mom about it tomorrow when I see them."

"Oh, thanks," Saya laughed.

The two stopped walking for a moment to hug.

"I'll see you later," Saya waved as she turned in the opposite direction Sayo was to go.

"Yeah, I'll see you."

The two girls were both excited about what was to come in their futures. Saya was half way through her dance lessons, only two more weeks left of fun. Sayo, on the other hand, would continue to attend the classes. Although, she would train specifically with Tama in order for them to get to know each other better, and to learn the proper dance techniques needed for competitions.

* * *

Kiri sat up in her and Maki's shared dorm watching late night anime when her cell phone rang out of nowhere. Curious, she peered at the caller id to see who it was calling her at this hour. Everyone she knew should be asleep by now. So, she was really surprised to see Saya's name lit up on her phone screen. Face contorting in curiosity and confusion, she turned the television volume down and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kiri," Saya sounded way too excited. Something had to be up. "You'll never guess what happened today."

"What happened?" Kiri was confused. Of course she would never guess what happened to Saya today, they hadn't seen each other in a couple weeks!

"Sayo was asked to become DJ Tama's official dance partner," Saya's smile was evident through the phone.

"And what does that mean, exactly?" Kiri didn't quite understand the significance.

"It means that he wants her to become his professional partner and enter competitions with her," Saya answered enthusiastically, as if she were talking about herself.

"Wow, that's amazing," Kiri finally understood, and had felt herself becoming excited. "Does that mean she'll be on television?"

"I'm not sure," Saya answered in her normal voice, sounding like she was beginning to calm down about the whole thing. "However, I know it's a big step for her."

"Yeah, it would be a big step for anyone in her shoes," Kiri nodded.

"She told me that he said she has untapped talent," Saya informed Kiri, who popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth during the little bit of silence.

"Wow, he must think highly of her then," Kiri nodded, eyes resting on the action scene between two characters on the screen of the television.

"Yeah," Saya breathed, "you should see it when they dance together though."

"Why is that?" Kiri was back to being a little confused.

"Because, they just seem to float around the dance floor, no matter what dance they're doing," Saya continued, a hint of envy sneaking through her voice.

"Oh," Kiri blinked. Honestly, she would like to see that in person too. When Sayo dances, it's usually not the float around type.

"Well, I'll let you go," Saya chirped in, "I felt I had to tell someone, I was about to burst."

"Oh, sure," Kiri smiled, even though Saya couldn't see her. "I'll tell Maki about it tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm gonna tell Mitsu too," Saya continued.

"Well, good night," Kiri began to yawn.

"Mm, good night," And Saya hung up.

Kiri flipped her phone shut and, for some reason, didn't feel like watching anime anymore. So, she shut off the television, set the remote on the coffee table, and went to bed for the night.

Who knew where this new and exciting opportunity will take them?


	19. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Increasing Opportunities**

On a particularly sour day, no one was feeling up to doing anything. Well, not exactly everyone. Maki and Take were supposed to have a date today because they both had off. The guys were all supposed to meet up later just to hang out. The girls were planning on having a fun day with each other. Yeah, all the plans were made. The community just had no life to it at all that day. Good thing that their plans had to do with places outside of their small community.

* * *

Maki and Take met up at the train station that morning. They hadn't decided what exactly they wanted to do for their date, but they knew it wouldn't be here. So, they hopped on a train and waited for realization to just smack them in the face when they heard the name of a district. It was kind of like playing roulette, really. Who knew if they would end up riding the Ferris wheel in Odaiba, or shopping in Shibuya or Shinjuku. Or perhaps they'd end up in a nice restaurant in Roppongi Hills.

So, Take and Maki sat on the train next to each other, surrounded by a bunch of strangers. Small conversations were happening between the school girls and the other people who knew each other in the compartment.

"So, is this your first real date, Takeda-kun?" Maki decided to ask when the silence between the two of them was more than she could handle.

Take blinked and turned his head to look at her. "Yeah, I guess you could say that…" he seemed a bit embarrassed by the fact.

"Don't worry," Maki smiled, "it's not that bad."

Take shrugged. The realization of this as his first actual real date with a girl had stung him painfully and he realized that he felt really depressed about the fact. He didn't want to be that kind of guy. "I guess…"

"Hey, don't be bummed," Maki chuckled, shooing away the depression she felt with her hands.

"Ah, sorry," Take lifted his head and tried to smile. It didn't work. Maki could tell it was forced.

"Hey, that means you've never had an amusement park date, have you?" Maki smiled, a brilliant idea invading her mind. She just couldn't shake that this was what they should do today.

Take looked over at her queerly. "No…" he mumbled, wondering what she was up to. He could see the enthusiasm growing in her just by looking at her smile.

"That's it, we should go to an amusement park!" Maki smiled excitedly, looking much like a child.

"Okay…" Take answered, even though it wasn't really a question. He didn't object, or rather, he found himself unable to object.

So, as soon as the stop for Odaiba was called, the two exited the train. Maki walked ahead of Take in excitement. It had been forever since she'd been to an amusement park, she couldn't wait. She felt like running, but didn't want to leave him in the dust. As they reached the entrance, they both checked their wallets for proper funds. At the end of the line was where they stood. So many people…

About half an hour later, they found themselves at the ticket booth. Luckily, they had enough money. After getting through the security search, Maki turned to Take excitedly, grabbed his hand and smiled.

"Come on, let's go!" she laughed, pulling him along.

Take, startled by her fast movement, blushed a little and allowed himself to be drug along. "Ok…"

* * *

Later, the guys met up at Café de Rovne, their usual spot. It had been a while since they'd seen or heard from each other, except for Ryu and Hayato. Tsuchi was the first one to arrive, so he took his time in deciding what he wanted to have to drink. About ten minutes later, the door opened. Hyuga stepped through the doors, looking a little bummed, and plopped down next to Tsuchi in a chair.

"Man, I can't stand this economy…" he muttered under his breath.

"Nice to see you too…" Tsuchi greeted, not moving his eyes from the menu.

"Oh, yeah, hey…" Hyuga greeted absently, leaning his head on the back of the chair.

The door opened up again. This time Hayato came strolling in, a smirk on his face. He looked over to the owner behind the bar and nodded his head in greeting. Continuing on, he passed by Tsuchi and Hyuga in the chairs and sat down on the sofa in his usual spot.

"Hey guys," Hayato greeted as he lounged out, enjoying he free space next to him while it lasted.

Hyuga peeped over at Hayato and saw him practically glowing. "What's up with you?" Tsuchi finally moved his attention from the menu and looked over at Hayato as well. There was this huge smirk on the guy's face for some reason they had no idea of.

"Oh, not much really," Hayato answered smugly, waiting patiently for the rest of the gang to arrive. The best idea had occurred to him just moments before entering the establishment. The guys would probably think it would be boring, but who knew who they might run into?

"I doubt it…" Tsuchi responded to the smug smirk on his friend's face. Something told him the idiot leader was planning something. And who knew what would happen if he actually went through with it…

At that, the door to the establishment opened once again. Ryu walked in casually, nodding to the owner on his way to the sofa. Hayato looked over, sighing and moving over to let his roommate in. Ryu didn't say anything, just sat down in his usual spot.

"Oh, Ryu," Tsuchi smiled in greeting. "It's been a while."

Hyuga smirked over at the guy too. "Yeah."

"How've you been?" Tsuchi continued, completely ignoring the growing irritation on Hayato's face. After all, it's not like they had seen Hayato more than Ryu between their last meeting and this one…

"Alright," Ryu shrugged, having no answer to the question.

"Yeah, he's become a real studying machine…" Hayato commented sourly.

"Eh?" Hyuga was a little confused and shocked. "Studying machine?"

"Yeah, it seems like all he does now is study and work…" Hayato was practically pouting and scowling at the same time. Ryu only glared at him for making him sound so inhuman.

"Whoa, you must be determined to get through school, huh?" Tsuchi smirked, chuckling a bit.

"That's not it…" Ryu defended himself lightly, closing his eyes and turning his head away from the others.

"Then what is it?" Hayato prodded with a smirk. Of course, he already knew the answer to the question.

"It's nothing…" Ryu responded quietly, not wanting to tell the others. He knew Hayato knew and cursed him mentally for asking about it.

"Sure it is…" Hayato leaned back on the couch and sighed. "You're so stubborn."

Tsuchi and Hyuga just watched the two silently, trying to pick up any hints that were being dropped, but couldn't find any no matter how hard they tried. They decided to stay quiet. The room became silent except for the music playing in the establishment. Ryu was still not facing at the others.

The door opened again and a breathless Take stumbled through the door. "Sorry I'm late you guys," he breathed, struggling to inhale the necessary oxygen for speech. "My date with Maki-chan took longer than planned…"

"Oh?" Hyuga had a suggestive smirk on his face. "Date?"

"You two had a date today?" Tsuchi asked as he turned around in his seat to face Take, who was still at the entrance. Take had closed the door behind him but stopped to catch his breath.

Take nodded his head as he stood up straight, having caught enough of his breath to continue towards his friends. He sat down in a chair across from the couch where Hayato sat. "We went to an amusement park, and she dragged me on a bunch of rides…"

"Did you have fun?" Hayato asked, a smirk on his face. He knew the other wouldn't take the smirk the wrong way.

"Yeah," Take smiled happily. The others couldn't say anything to razz him after seeing his face. The face that expressed true happiness. Since they all wanted to be like that someday, they didn't want to be mean about it.

A few moments of sipping went by with music playing lightly in the background. The guys were trying to think of something to talk about, but fell short on a topic of interest.

"So, what do we want to do?" Hayato asked when the silence was too much for him to bear. Ryu was still not paying attention, seemingly in his own little world at the moment.

"Hmmm," Take looked up with a thoughtful expression.

"Maybe we should go karaoke since we got busted last time we tried…" Hyuga thought out loud.

"Maybe," Take shrugged. "Though it wouldn't be much fun without the girls…"

"True…" Tsuchi nodded in agreement. He hadn't thought about that.

"Let's go anyway," Hayato declared, standing up from his place on the couch next to Ryu. "We don't need girls to have fun, do we?"

"You sure are energetic. How long has it been since you've seen Saya-chan, anyway?" Hyuga remarked, a smirk on his lips.

Hayato twitched slightly. It had been a while since he'd seen her. In fact, the last time he had seen her was a couple days after graduation, when he gave her his jacket in the rain. "Um…"

"You really haven't kept in touch with her since the last time!" Tsuchi was shocked by this. He was sure that Hayato would be the one to keep contact with the girl.

"Well…" Hayato looked up at the ceiling, not wanting them to see his embarrassment.

Ryu saw the opening. "He hasn't kept in contact with her."

"What?" Take looked skeptically at Ryu.

"Yeah," Ryu nodded his head. He wasn't going to escalate this beyond his likings. He only wanted a little revenge for earlier.

Hayato glared back at Ryu, who only shrugged at his best friend. "You weren't supposed to tell them that!"

"Oh well."

"So, which karaoke place should we go to?" Take asked, taking the attention off of Hayato.

"I know this really good place," Tsuchi started, sounding sure of himself. "It's a two story building, karaoke rooms on top, a restaurant on the bottom."

"Ooh, food and singing," Hyuga smiled, thinking of the food.

"Yeah, and in the lobby of the restaurant, they play a couple minutes worth of the singing from a random room upstairs," Tsuchi continued, explaining exactly why this place was a good choice.

"Sounds good," Hayato nodded his head. "Let's go then."

"Ou," the others nodded in agreement and they all headed off after paying their tab.

* * *

The girls were all waiting on Maki outside an establishment called Karaoke Party. Juri had heard about it from her two dorm mates, and decided that the girls should check it out. So, before they were to meet up today, Juri called each of them and old them about the place, and where to go. The girls all seemed excited about it, so there was a unanimous agreement among them.

"Man, where is Maki?" Mitsu complained, not wanting to stand outside any longer and get to singing.

"She told me her date ran late with Takeda-kun," Juri informed the girls, holding her cell phone for reference.

"Oh yeah, she told me they were planning on having a date today…" Kiri nodded her head, unable to believe she had forgotten about that. She sounded really excited about it too.

"Speaking of," Mitsu turned slowly to face Saya. "Where the hell is the other one!" She pointed at the air next to Saya.

"She'll be here soon," Saya commented, knowing Mitsu was going to ask this sooner or later. "She's with DJ Tama at the dance studio practicing."

"What for?" Juri tilted her head to the side in question.

"They'll be participating in their first competition as an official pair soon," Saya answered matter-of-factly. By now, they all knew about the question DJ Tama had asked Sayo. "She doesn't want to ruin his reputation with a bad first impression."

"Sounds like Sayo…" Kiri mumbled, nodding her head.

Pounding footsteps echoed off the pavement as Maki made her way toward the girls. "Sorry to make you wait, girls!" she called.

"Oh, Maki!" Mitsu turned to face the late one. "You're late!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Maki answered, stopping by them and catching her breath. "The lines at the amusement park were longer than I thought they would be…"

"Amusement park?" the other girls echoed.

"Yeah, Takeda-kun and I went to the amusement park for our first official date," Maki stood up straight and smiled at them, still breathing hard.

"Oh, how cute," Kiri smiled.

The girls chuckled a little as Maki caught her breath some more. After seeing who was there, she blinked couple times. "Where's Sayo?"

"Oh, she'll be here soon," Saya answered, nodding to Maki reassuringly.

"Is she busy with DJ Tama?" Maki asked curiously, thinking that might be the one thing Sayo would want to do before going out to have fun with the girls.

"Yeah," Say nodded again. "More practice."

"Oh, I hope they do well," Maki smiled.

So the girls waited. And waited. Nearly half an hour later, Saya got an email from Sayo, telling her that she was on her way. Saya sighed after she replied.

"Was that Sayo?" Mitsu inquired, hearing her roommate sigh.

"Yeah, she's finally on her way."

"It's about frickin' time!" Kiri muttered, standing up from where she had been sitting.

"Yeah, tell me about it…" Saya muttered as well, standing with the others.

Luckily for them, the dance studio wasn't too far from where they were right now. So, the girls decided to go in and get themselves a room. However, they were greeted with a line that was just to the doors. They all chorused a sigh and stood in waiting. Getting together was proving to be an exhausting task indeed. The line moved faster than the girls had anticipated. Before they knew it, they were at the register, and the only ones in line still. Just as they were about to speak, Sayo came in through the doors and joined them.

"You're really late," Mitsu chastised Sayo, who was being quite casual.

"Sorry, Yoshida-kun was being really critical about my footwork," Sayo explained rubbing her neck. "although I can't blame him any…"

"We're about to get a room," Juri told her in small voice so Saya could talk to the guy at the register.

"Oh, ok," Sayo nodded her head and stayed quiet so Saya could talk.

"One room for six please," Saya asked the guy behind the register with a smile.

"All right, please follow me," he nodded and led the girls upstairs. They passed by six rooms before the guy stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Here we are, room 402, one of our larger rooms."

The girls only nodded, seeing that he had more to say to them.

"It can hold more than six people, but right now this is all we have available," he continued, unlocking the door with his keys. "The price you pay is based on how much you order and how long you stay. Once you're done, you can come down to pay."

"Thanks a lot," the girls bowed and entered the room. The guy nodded and headed back downstairs to his post. A single minute later, a server came up, asked them for drink orders, if they wanted any food, and gave them all the menus they needed for their stay.

After placing their orders, and the server leaving the room, the girls sifted through the song menu to place their orders. They chatted about what each of them should sing. The girls were having fun, being loud with each other and laughing like when they were in high school. During this loud bout, their drinks were delivered to them. So, they came up with a system. The first song each of them sang would be self chosen, but the rest would be chosen by someone else. That way, each of them got to choose a song for one of the others to sing.

* * *

Hayato and the others finally found the place that Tsuchi had told them about.

"That's the place," Tsuchi pointed with his fan at the sign that had "Karaoke Party" written on it in hiragana.

"Karaoke Party?" Hyuga scoffed at the name.

"Yeah, a little simple, isn't it?" Tsuchi chuckled a bit.

"Really simple," Take nodded.

"Well, let's go inside already," Hayato continued into the establishment first. He seemed really pumped about this.

The guys were greeted by the guy behind the counter who had helped the girls earlier. They looked around and saw that the place was jam packed with people. There were large groups at the tables, chatting and eating, listening to the karaoke singers on the speakers.

"If you want a room, I'm sorry, but we're to capacity at the moment," the guy bowed in apology. "However, you can wait in the restaurant if you wish."

"Man, all the rooms are full…" Tsuchi mumbled, not seeing this outcome. He had no idea how popular this place was since he'd only heard about it.

"That's all right," Hayato shrugged, heading towards an empty table. "We can wait."

The others followed. There was a large television in the middle of the rood that played music videos that went along with the song that was playing at the moment. As they sat down, the song switched to a female. The tempo of the song was a bit faster than the previous one. Ryu perked up his when he heard the voice begin singing.

"_Bestu ni au hitsuyou nante nai (There's no need to see each other)_

_Shinakya ikenai koto takusan aru shi (I have a lot of things I need to do)_

_Mainichi hanasu hitsuyou nante nai (We don't need to talk every day)_

_Denwa daikasan de (My phone bill is going up)_

_meiwaku shiterun da_"_ (It's annoying)_

"Hey, haven't we heard this voice before?" Take asked out loud. "Or am I just hearing things?"

"Maybe we have…" Hyuga agreed partially, after listening more closely to the voice singing.

"It sounds like a professional…" Tsuchi commented, nodding his head in agreement with the other two.

"Yeah, no kidding…" Hayato nodded.

Ryu pondered whether he should tell the guys he knew who it was, or not. Just like back in the club on their graduation night, he could tell Sayo's voice anywhere. To his ears, her voice was unmistakable.

"_Waraeru hanashi (It's a funny story)_

_Kizutsuke rarete mo (Even when you hurt me)_

_I'm back for more_

_Kimi ni addicted kamo (I think I'm addicted to you)_

_Aenai karatte (Even if we can't meet)_

_Shinu wake ja nai shi (It's not like I'm gonna die)_

_Otagai no jijou wakatteru_"_ (We know each other's circumstances)_

Ryu was again curious about her song choice, but kept it to himself. The others were still listening to her singing closely and in awe. Unable to keep it in, he decided to answer their question from earlier. "We have heard her before."

They all looked over at him. "Eh?"

"How do you know that?" Take questioned curiously. Ryu wasn't always the one to remember such things.

"Because," Ryu looked up at them with an expressionless face. "she sang on the night of our graduation, too."

"How can you tell?" Tsuchi continued.

Ryu only shrugged. Instead, he went a different direction with the conversation. "We know her, too."

"Eh!" the others were really shocked now. Ryu hadn't been in the room when the girls were singing at their karaoke goukon, so how would he know?

"Who is it then?" Hayato crossed his arms over his chest and looked straight at his best friend.

Ryu turned his head to Hayato, an unreadable expression still on his face. "Sayo-chan."

"Whoa!" they hadn't see that one coming.

"Really?" Hayato looked confused. Ryu only nodded as an answer. He continued to listen to her voice through the speaker.

"_I'm in love with you_

_I know you want me too_

_Ienai kara iwanai n ja nai_"_ (It's not like I don't say it because I can't)_

"Wow, she's really good," Tsuchi commented, fanning himself casually. "Who would've thought?"

"I know," Take nodded, agreeing with his friend on the matter.

"Hell, she's pretty enough and good enough to become a pro, if she wanted to," Hyuga supposed, leaning back and enjoying the song.

"Yeah," Hayato agreed, nodding his head. "She'd get a lot of attention if she did."

Ryu closed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows at Hayato's little comment. That sounded like it was directed at him. Not that he didn't agree with them, he just didn't admire the thought of it. Not one bit.

"_Dakedo sore ja kurushikute (But it hurts like this)_

_Mainichi aitakute (I want to see you ever day)_

_Kono kimochi tsutaete mo ii no (How do I tell you these feelings)_

_Kiss yori dakishimete (Hold me instead of kissing me)_

_Ikinari yamenaide (Don't stop so suddenly)_

_Oh baby (Oh baby)_

_Kimi ni addicted kamo_"_ (I think I'm addicted to you)_

A waitress came over to their table, finally, and asked them what they wished to order. The guys were easily distracted from the song by the food and the hot waitress girl. A small instrumental interlude was playing at the moment, so Ryu ordered a small bite to eat. The waitress was paying attention to Ryu and Hayato more than the other two. They didn't waste any time in ordering. And the waitress didn't waste any time in hurrying back into the kitchen to place the orders.

"If it is Sayo-chan, I wonder why she picked this song?" Tsuchi wondered out loud just what Ryu had been thinking.

"Maybe she didn't pick it for herself," Take reasoned, thinking that if Sayo was there, the others were too.

"Maybe," Hyuga shrugged.

"_Kiss yori dakishimete (Hold me instead of kissing me)_

_Ikinari yamenaide (Don't stop so suddenly)_

_Oh baby (Oh baby)_

_I think I'm addicted to you_"

The song ended and switched the audio to another room where some guy was singing terribly. The guys all cringed, praying they would switch the audio back to the girls, or at least to someone more decent than this guy. Anything but this horrible squealing would do at the moment.

Unfortunately for the guys, they had to sit through the singing of several different people before their food came. Hot and ready to be consumed by hungry mouths. Then, they had to sit through more singing while they ate their food. Hayato thought hard during this time period about what they should do.

"I got it!" he announced, holding up his finger on one hand, and keeping a hold of his chopsticks with the other. "We should go join the girls."

"Ingenious plan," Tsuchi nodded after he swallowed his mouth full.

"I know," Hayato smirked.

"Idiot…" Ryu muttered lowly under his breath at Hayato's attitude.

"We'll go join them when we're done eating," Hayato instructed, as they all continued shoving delicious, hot food into their mouths.

They all nodded, since they all had full mouths.

* * *

The girls heard a faint knock on their door. Juri opened it to greet who she thought would be their server with more drinks and sushi. She was wrong. Instead, she was greeted by Hayato and the guys. She blinked as they looked at her with smirks on their faces.

Juri had on a cute outfit. A long black t-shirt with silver writing on it over a white layered skirt. A purple belt was around her waist and plaid black peep toe heels on her feet. "Oh, it's you guys." (Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view¤t = JuriSkirt2 .jpg )

Maki came up from behind Juri before anything could be said. "Who is it, Juri?"

It certainly did look like she had spent the day at an amusement park. Her grey hoodie had the word "Dallas" on it in lavender print with the number 72 under it to the right. Short denim shorts and red converse added to her casual look. "Oh, it's you…" (Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view¤t = MakiShorts2 .jpg )

"Can we join you ladies?" Hayato asked the two at the door.

"Uh," Maki blinked and looked at Juri, who felt the same. Uneasy. Unsure. Then they looked back into the room at the situation. Saya and Sayo were looking through the song menu intently. Mitsu was laughing, drinking her soda. Kiri was up in front, singing enthusiastically.

The two girls looked back at the guys. "Um, sure, why not," Maki smiled, feeling a little bit deviant. She didn't know whether the others would appreciate this move of hers or not, but nevertheless, she did it anyway.

Juri and Maki walked back in toward the couch, the guys following behind them. Mitsu was the first one to look back toward the two. "Who was at-" she stopped when she saw the guys, her question answered with just one look. A smile spread quickly on her face. "Seriously?" she chuckled, standing from her seat and approaching their guests.

"Seriously," came Hyuga's reply, a smirk along with it. Mitsu smirked back at him.

Mitsu was probably the most casual of them all. A loose brown t-shirt with a pocket on the chest, dark grey capris, and white converse made up her entire outfit. That's it. (Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view¤t = MitsuCapris2-1 .jpg )

The guys looked up at the front of the room at Kiri, who was currently dancing like a maniac and singing. Tsuchi smirked and chuckled a little at seeing Kiri. "Doesn't she run out of breath?" he wondered to himself quietly.

Yep, it was an amusing sight indeed. Kiri, in a short strapless dress, striped horizontally in black and white, two layers on the skirt part, and a black bow in the middle of the top of the dress in the front. She also had on a pair of black low-top sneakers. (Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view¤t = KiriDress .jpg )

Saya was the first one to move her attention from the song menu to the guests. She blinked a few times when she saw them standing there. She didn't say anything yet.

"Go ahead and have a seat," Juri told them kindly, she was never on to be rude.

So they all took a seat on the large couch, which had enough room on it for each girl to lay down on it and they wouldn't touch each other. There was plenty of room for the guys. Hayato, being bold, decided to sit close to Saya. She looked over at him for second, then returned her sights to Juri and Maki, who were still standing. Kiri was still singing, though the song was ending. She hadn't noticed the guys yet.

Hayato looked over Saya at this point. She had on a white ¾ length sleeved shirt under a light pink cowl pink halter dress that had a v-shaped back. Black ripped skinny jeans covered her legs, and black ankle boots on her feet. He took a moment to catch his breath. (Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view¤t = SayaOutfit2 .jpg )

Hyuga and Tsuchi sat by Mitsu, watching Kiri have fun. Take and Maki sat together with Juri by them. Ryu sat on the other side of Hayato by Saya and Sayo. Saya honestly wasn't sure what would happen when Sayo raised her head and found the guys in the room as well. Honestly, Saya wasn't sure if she was or wasn't looking forward to the reaction. It could be good, or it could be bad.

Sayo finally looked up straight ahead and saw Mitsu with Hyuga and Tsuchi sitting on the couch. She lifted one of her eyebrows in confusion and blinked twice. Turning her head to her left, she saw Maki and Juri sitting on either side of Take. A little further left and she found her cousin, as well as Hayato and the one who had been plaguing her mind for at least two months. Although, her dance lessons with DJ Tama were distracting her mind a bit from it.

To the others, the two girls never failed to look like twins. Especially recently. Sayo had on the same cowl neck halter dress, only it was in black, and a white tube top under it with gold skull studs on the band. A light grey layered skirt sat just below the dress over black tights, and black converse that went all the way up to her knees. (Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view¤t = SayoOutfit2 .jpg )

Kiri finally finished singing and bounded over to Tsuchi happily. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself," he greeted, standing up to hug her.

"Woo~" a childish wave spilled over the others in the room. After all, it was rare that any of them were semi intimate with each other around everyone.

"Oh hush," Kiri stuck her tongue out at the others and sat down next to Tsuchi. He had his arm around her shoulders.

"So who was next?" Hayato asked, a smile on his face.

"I was," Saya answered, standing from where she was. She headed toward the front of the room and grabbed the mic.

"This ought to be good," Hayato smirked as he leaned back on the couch and watched her.

Everybody else got caught up in conversations since it had been a while since they'd seen each other. Ryu sat next to Hayato and just watched everything going on. Sayo did as well. Maki and Take were telling Juri about their date earlier that day. Mitsu and Hyuga were discussing things that had been happening with them during the time they hadn't seen each other. Kiri and Tsuchi were wallowing in each other's company, talking about just about anything they could think of all while cuddling together. Sayo eyed those two from the corners of her eyes and sighed. If only it were that easy all the time.

Saya was singing a song that Mitsu had chosen for her, and she didn't know it that well, so she wasn't singing to her full potential at all. Hayato seemed to be confused by this outcome. If Sayo was a good singer, then why wasn't Saya?

Once Saya was done singing, she put the microphone back on the stand and walked back to her seat. She sighed as she sat down and grabbed her soda off the table, sipping it furiously. "Man," she grumbled, "stupid Mitsu, choosing such a song that I can't sing…"

Hayato only looked at her from the corner of his eye. He judged it wise that he didn't get involved in this one.

Sayo got up almost immediately after Saya said her little piece, even if the one she really wanted to hear it didn't. Sayo was singing an American song chosen for her by Juri. This should be interesting.

The song started, and Juri pulled herself out of her conversation to watch. Saya, Hayato and Ryu watched as well. The two guys were interested in this anyway.

"_You're pullin' petals off a flower tryin' to get your way_

_Keep pullin' till it says what you want it to say_

_Girl you can pick a field full of daisies_

_But he'd still be my baby_"

"Wow, those conversational English classes came in handy, huh?" Hayato commented on Sayo's great English to Saya.

"_Of course_," Saya replied in English, feeling a bit of triumph.

"_You can pout your cherry lips_

_Try to tempt him with a sweet kiss_

_You can flirt your pretty eyes_

_He ain't got his hands tied_"

"Is there a meaning to her singing this?" Hayato asked again, having a feeling that there was, but he didn't know English, so he couldn't quite tell. Ryu, on the other hand, understood most of what was being sang.

"_Of course_," Saya repeated in English once again. After seeing the irritated look on his face, she answered him in Japanese. "Of course."

"_You're the kind of girl that's always up for do-or-dare_

_Only want him just because he's there_

_Always lookin' for a new ride_

_The grass is greener on the other side_"

No one said anything.

"_You're the kind of who's not used to hearin' no_

_All your lovers try to take you where you want to go_

_Doesn't matter how hard you try_

_You're never gonna get away with my guy_"

Sayo was feeling the song as memories flooded her mind from graduation night at the club. When Kaminori Ayaka tried, and failed, to get Ryu to look her way. Instead, Ryu had turned away from her bluntly and chose Sayo over the other girl. Ryu, piecing together the English he knew, was slowly figuring out what was being sang. The same memories flooded his mind as well.

"_No chains to unlock_

_So free to do what he wants_

_He's into what he's got_

_He loves me, he loves you not_

_No matter what you do_

_He's never gonna get with you_

_He's into what he's got_

_He loves me, he loves you not_"

Sayo finished the song and sat down, feeling a little after-the-fact embarrassment, remembering sharply that Ryu was there to witness that song. How wonderful. She only hoped suspicions wouldn't rise. Ryu, not wanting to raise suspicions either, didn't comment on the song and stayed quiet.

Hayato grabbed Saya by her hand and pulled her out into the hallway with him out of nowhere. Saya was too shocked by his sudden actions and couldn't say anything in protest. Sayo watched the two curiously, but quickly let it go. The two left a large gap on the couch between Sayo and Ryu. Sayo felt the urge to scoot over, but didn't want to at the same time. Contradicting feelings were not easy on her at all.

* * *

Outside in the hallway, Hayato was standing in front of Saya with his back to her. She stood there, staring at him with a confused expression on her face. "What's wrong?"

"You," he said, turning around with a solemn look on his face. She was taken aback.

"What?"

"You, being like that," he continued.

"I don't follow you…" she mumbled.

"Having an attitude like that," he elaborated for her. "I don't like it."

"Well," she straightened up, feeling indignant. "I'm so sorry," she told him sarcastically.

"Don't do that," he sighed, struggling to keep his hand off her.

"Why not?" she continued. "Well, Yabuki-kun?" she knew that would probably piss him off, but she didn't care.

Hearing the formal reference to himself, Hayato's eyebrows furrowed in irritation, and he impulsively grabbed her by the wrist. "I thought I told you not to call me that anymore."

Saya knew he would get mad, but she didn't think he'd grab her like that. "Yeah, so what?" she felt oddly playful despite the situation.

Hayato smirked, noticing the playfulness in her eyes. "All right, have it your way then."

Saya quickly became confused by his actions. He pulled her arm up by her wrist and forward, for her, causing her entire body to fall forward into his. Realizing what was happening, Saya quickly braced herself for the crash into his chest and closed her eyes. She knew she was going to blush, it wa only a matter of time. However, it wasn't a crash, like she thought it would be. Instead, he gently caught her body on his own by embracing her, his face in her neck. As she thought, her face rapidly became hot as the blood rushed to her cheeks. This was his payback!

"How do you like that?" he asked, a playful tone in his voice.

"…" she struggled to form the words. One half of her wanted to beat his face in. The other wanted to return his embrace and feel his warmth. "Hayato-kun…" she whined.

"Eh?" he sounded amused, but didn't move his head at all. She could feel his breath on her neck, as well as his smile.

"This is embarrassing…" she continued, knowing she had lost the battle. "There are other people on this floor…"

"So what? It's not like I care if they see us," he continued, hot breath tickling her seductively. She didn't know whether he was doing this on purpose, or if it was just by coincidence.

"Hayato-kun," she whined again, feeling the butterflies in her stomach parading around like lunatics. She felt herself weakening, and her arms moving to return his embrace.

"Come on Saya-chan," she felt him smirk against her skin. His lips were a bit dry against her soft skin. He didn't want to admit himself here, but he felt like the time was right. Why was it that he could only tease and argue with her?

"Give me a break…" she muttered shakily, her arms still moving up to his back.

"Not a chance," he teased. Damn it, here he goes again, screwing up the moment. Or maybe not…

Saya finally gave in and wrapped her arms around his upper back tightly, and rested her head on his shoulder. He hadn't been expecting her to give in. Hell, if he knew she would, he would've done something like this a long time ago. She felt helpless, trapped in his embrace without a way out. Although, the way out became clearer to her the more she rested her head on his shoulder. That's it!

Hayato felt her smirk on his shoulder and felt that now the moment was truly over. Something was up. Her mind was processing something. She was moving her head. Hayato felt the dread wash over him as he realized just where her head was moving to. Her breath tickled his skin down his shirt. Then, he jumped, letting go of her in the process. She had nibbled ever so slightly on his collarbone.

She wasn't really expecting such a reaction. She blinked a few times at the shocked look on his face. Then she covered her mouth, trying to suppress her giggles. Who would've thought that the mighty leader of Kurogin's class 3-D would be sensitive to his collarbones? She had found a weakness.

"Don't do that!" he had a hand on his collarbone where she had nibbled. "And don't laugh!"

"But it's funny," she continued her giggling.

"Hey, I'll hug you again," he threatened, but it wasn't a strong threat. She wasn't buying it. He growled, seeing that it wasn't working. "Fine, I'll just kiss you instead," he moved toward her again.

She stopped laughing. "You wouldn't dare," she backed away from him as he advanced toward her.

"I would," his smirk was devilish, seeing how defensive she was getting.

"Hayato-kun, don't," she whined again, feeling the helplessness wash over her again in a wave. The butterflies returned again, dancing just like Kiri was when she was singing earlier.

"Why not?" he had her cornered at the end of the hallway against the wall. She didn't look him in the eye.

"Because…" she started but stopped before she said anything revealing or irrational. She sounded a bit pitiful and weak.

"You don't like me?" his tone was playful again. He had his arms on the wall on both sides of her body and was inching toward her face.

"It's not that…" she mumbled, embarrassed that she was saying something like that. She still was not looking at him.

"Then it should be fine, right?" he leaned in more.

She closed her eyes, expecting her head to be moved by his hand so he could reach her lips. But it never came. Instead, his lips landed squarely on her cheek. Her eyes popped open in surprise. "Eh?" she turned her head toward him once he had leaned back enough.

"I never said where, silly," he smirked, the playful tone in his voice coming through.

Her knees got weak and she began to slide down the wall, a shocked look on her face. "Oi!" Hayato caught her before she slid down too far.

She didn't say anything, just looked down at the floor. Once she regained her sense, she looked up at him, a hurt look in her eyes. Her eyes were quivering and she looked angry. Hayato softened his expression and watched her closely, waiting for her to speak. "Don't do that," she sounded like she was going to cry. Looked like it too.

"Sorry," he apologized. He continued to watch her as she closed her eyes, and her lips quivered more. Then he saw the tears form at the sides of her eyes. He sighed, feeling bad, and pulled her into an embrace again. A comforting embrace. She didn't reject him either.

"That was really mean," she mumbled. If she hadn't been close to his ear, he probably wouldn't have heard her. It made him feel even worse than before.

"…" he found himself unable to say anything more to her. They just stood there in the embrace as she cried softly into his shoulder.

* * *

Ryu and Sayo were the only ones left in the room. How ironic. Saya and Hayato had walked out about twenty minutes ago. And the others had all gone downstairs to have some more food in the restaurant. Not to mention, Sayo was starting to feel the dance practice take its toll. She was getting tired.

She sat in her spot with her eyes closed, head in one of her hands, and sighed. Ryu peered over at her. "Tired?" he asked.

She opened her eyes and glanced over at him for a few seconds before closing them again. "Yeah…"

Well, that didn't get them anywhere. What the hell had happened to him? Where did his confidence slip away to when he was with her? Why didn't he ever know what to say to her? Why was she the only thing that filled his head on lonely nights? Why did the memories overflow when she was near him? And even more so when she wasn't near him. He feared he was losing himself, and he didn't really like it. It was a scary thought.

Sayo coincidentally felt the same way. Why couldn't she be herself around him? Why did she always feel like she was being tested? Like she wasn't good enough for him? Why did every little thing remind her of him? Why was she so scared of the thought of losing him? And just as scared of another girl stealing away his attention. She knew that she knew the truth, but was purposefully deceiving herself. Her feelings scared her.

A dense silence hung over the two of them as they stayed in their thoughts. Although, with these two, it could be dangerous if they were left to their thoughts for too long. Luckily for them, they weren't left to their thoughts for too long. Hayato and Saya entered the room again. Hayato was watching Saya with a concerned gaze. Saya looked a little unsteady on her feet.

Sayo looked up, hearing the door open. "Ah, Saya," Sayo smiled in greeting.

"Oh, it's just you two? Where are the others?" Saya questioned after seeing her cousin and Ryu sitting apart on the couch.

"Yeah, they went downstairs to eat," Sayo informed Saya while holding back a yawn.

"Oh," Saya nodded making her way to Sayo. "Hey, sing with me, okay?" Saya said, grabbing Sayo's wrists and pulling her up to the microphone.

"Eh?" Sayo couldn't protest, she was too tired and taken by surprise.

"Let's see…" Saya flipped through the song menu, looking for a song the two could sing together. "What should we sing?"

"I don't know…" Sayo answered as she yawned.

"Oh? Dance practice finally setting in huh?" Saya smirked, knowing her cousin well.

"Yeah," Sayo nodded, sighing.

"How about _'Crazy 4 U' _?" Saya suggested, looking over at Sayo's tired eyes.

"Sure," Sayo answered, smiling a bit. This song was one of her favorites to sing anyway.

"All right, let's order it," Saya smiled back, turning around to punch in the song number.

Sayo sighed in the brief moment it took for Saya to order the song. Glancing nervously over at Hayato and Ryu on the couch, a shaky sigh escaped her lips. Saya, hearing the shaky sigh, realized what the problem was. A small smile graced her face as she glided over to her cousin's side.

"It's ok," Saya whispered in Sayo's ear. She knew Sayo was uncomfortable singing in front of guys, especially the ones she liked. Saya was even a bit nervous herself. Sayo didn't say anything, she just looked at Saya sideways. "Just pretend they're not here."

Sayo closed her eyes and breathed slowly. The song started and Sayo felt her fears fade as the music filled her with the desire to do nothing but sing and dance. Saya grabbed the extra microphone and got ready to sing. The two simultaneously brought the microphones to their mouths as the vocal part began. Saya sang first.

"_Sono kurayami de tsume wo migaite wa (I painted my nails with darkness)_

_Nerai sadamete kuchibiru ubatta (Targeting your lips to steal)_

_Shouga nai desho kakugo kimete yo (There's nothing you can do to be prepared)_

_Konya wa nagai yoru ni naru wa_"_ (Tonight's gonna be a long night)_

Hayato sat there, watching Saya sing. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Sayo continued.

"_Itsumademo Kawaranai nante (It doesn't mean nothing)_

_Arie nai keredo (will never change)_

_Demo hontou wa zutto (But the truth is)_

_Kawaranai mama de itai no_" _(I never want it to change)_

Hayato and Ryu had nothing to say. They were too stunned for words. Hayato because of their singing abilities, Ryu because of the song. The two girls sang the chorus together in harmony.

"_Crazy for your love_

_Sono te de kowareru hodo no hageshii wa na (Your hand is a violent trap)_

_Only for you_

_Daki ai kuzureta mama no (Being held by you is like being crushed)_

_It's love game_

_Kagiri naku tsudzuku yozora wa haruka kanata _

_(The morning that comes at the end is far away)_

_Yagate kuru kakegae nai kono asa_

_(The night will go on forever it will never be replaced)_"

During the little instrumental interlude, Saya and Sayo danced a little bit for fun. The guys were shocked by the dancing that ensued. The two were throwing in moves from the street. Hayato had to look away and take a deep breath before he returned his sights to the two girls. Sayo sang first this time around.

"_Sono kurayami de hikaru me wa nani wo (What are you thinking about that's)_

_Kangaeteru no? (Making your eyes shine in the dark?)_

_Fuan ni naru wa (It's making me nervous)_

_Konya kagiri no koi ja dame na no (I can't have a love that's just for tonight)_

_Sabishisa de make sou ni naru wa_"_ (I'll give in to the loneliness)_"

Hayato sighed once the two stopped dancing to sing again. It was a mental relief for him. He continued to watch and listen to them as they continued to sing, seemingly unaware of his and Ryu's presence in the room. Saya kept going.

"_Kokoro kara afure dashiteru (Overflowing from my heart)_

_Amai mitsu no aji (Is the sweet taste of honey)_

_Anata ni dake wa (I just want you)_

_Kanjite hoshii no watashi wo_"_ (To feel me)_

Hearing the last bit, Hayato blushed a bright red. The others couldn't see it thanks to the darkness of the room. Saya and Sayo sang in harmony again.

"_Crazy for your love_

_Sono te de dakareru tabi ni hageshiku naru_

_(When your hands hold me it gets intense)_

_Only for you_

_Honki ni naru no ga kowai (I'm afraid to be honest with you)_

_The trap of love_

_Kasane au sono kuchibiru ga furete ita_

_(My lips were trembling when you put yours on mine)_

_Hontou no kokoro wo ima miseru wa_

_(Now I'm going to show you my true heart)_"

Another instrumental interlude blasted through the speakers, and this time, the dancing was dirtier. Saya and Sayo did the first half of the routine from the music video perfectly. It successfully turned Hayato on, that was for sure. Ryu tried his best to keep his poker face on. When he couldn't handle it, he looked away. Saya and Sayo sang the last bit of the song together once again, getting up off the floor just as the rest of their entire group entered the room, talking up a storm about their food.

"Oh, they're here," Take observed, seeing Hayato and Saya back in the room. When the others had left, they hadn't seen Hayato nor Saya anywhere. Suspicions had been buzzing in their minds.

They all sat down just as the two up front were finishing the song. When it was over, the girls all clapped and hooted like silly kids again. Saya and Sayo bound over to the girls with smiles on their faces. They all laughed and giggled a bit before breaking back into the little routine they had going. Everyone was taking turns singing, dancing, and they all were having a good time.

Sayo sat back down on the couch, feeling even more fatigued than before. She leaned back on the couch and passed on any chance to sing again. Sighing, she rested her head on the back of the couch. Ryu was still sitting on the couch as well, in the same spot. He hadn't moved the whole time! It had been going on at least three hours that they had all been there. It was getting pretty late, and Sayo was surprised that she had lasted this long. As time passed by, Ryu kept his eye on the tired girl next to him. He wasn't very surprised when he saw her eyes closed, paired with a peaceful look on her face. She was asleep, amongst all this noisy chaos that surrounded them. Before he could do anything about it, Saya came up to take a sip of her drink and saw Sayo asleep on the couch.

"I knew this would happen…" she mumbled with a small knowing smile on her face. Carefully, Saya rubbed Sayo's shoulder gingerly, and leaned over to her ear. "Hey, you can't sleep here, Sayo."

"Mmmrg," Sayo made a small noise and her eyes fluttered open. "Saya…"

"You should go home if you're tired, Sayo," Saya knelt down in front of Sayo, smiling at her.

Sayo leaned forward and put her hand on her face for a moment. She nodded her head once. Sayo searched for words but couldn't find any, her mind was foggy from the fatigue that was threatening to overcome her body again.

"Do you want me to help you home?" Saya asked when she saw the nod from her cousin.

"You don't have to," Sayo answered, sighing. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"But you shouldn't go alone, not when you're this tired," Saya protested, having this terrible vision of something terrible happening to her dear cousin.

"I'll take her home," Ryu said, standing from his spot on the couch, moving next to Saya.

"Really?" Saya asked, a hopeful tone in her voice, standing where she was.

Ryu nodded his head once in answer. Sayo looked up at him, no particular emotion, except for exhaustion, visible on her face. Saya smiled, "Thanks for going to the trouble to help her home."

"It's not really any trouble," Ryu replied, completely honest. He didn't mind helping her home. If it meant she didn't get into any trouble, or nothing bad happened to her on her way home, he wouldn't consider it trouble at all.

Saya smiled again and returned to the party with the others, knowing she could trust him with Sayo. Once Saya was back in the fray, Ryu extended his hand to Sayo. "Here," he told her. She looked up at him curiously before realizing what he was implying.

"Oh, thanks," Sayo nodded her head and placed her hand gently into his. With a bit of strength, he pulled Sayo up off the couch and held her steady for a moment. Once she was ready, she nodded her head, and they both made their way towards the door, Ryu behind Sayo.

After the two were out of the room, a few of the others saw them leave, but hadn't seen the confrontation between Saya and Sayo before. Juri was one of them. She decided to ask Saya about it before jumping to conclusions.

"Hey, Saya," Juri began, coming up to Saya when she was away from the others for a moment.

"Yeah?"

"Why did Sayo leave with Odagiri-kun?" Juri looked curious and worried.

"Oh, Sayo got tired," Saya answered with a smile. "Odagiri-kun volunteered to help her get home safely before she fell back asleep in here."

"Oh, that was nice of him," Juri smiled back, glad to hear of the kind deed.

"Yeah, it really was," Saya nodded, a mysterious expression on her face.

* * *

Ryu and Sayo exited the karaoke establishment and Sayo made a turn toward the train station. Ryu looked at her back in confusion. It made more sense to take a taxi if you were exhausted than to take the train home. Didn't she know that? What was she thinking?

"Why don't we take a taxi?" he proposed after those questions flew by in his mind. Without stopping, Sayo shook her head in protest fervently. Ryu waited for her to respond, knowing she would have something to say.

"I don't have enough money on me to pay for a taxi," Sayo explained, her voice still sounding a bit lively despite her exhaustion.

"I can pay," Ryu started, but was cut off by her shaking her head fervently again in protest, knowing he would say that.

"I don't want you to pay for something like that and feel as if I owe you," Sayo continued explaining. "Man," she sighed heavily, her shoulders visibly slumping, "it sucks not having a job…"

"You wouldn't owe me," he mumbled. No one else was around them, so she was able to hear him perfectly.

"Even so, I would feel like I did," she persisted. "I only have enough for one ticket on the train anyway…"

"Fine, we'll take the train."

Sayo stayed quiet as they both approached the ticket machine. Sayo inserted her money for one ticket and pulled out the stub from the little slot. Ryu stood next to her and did the same. Without a word, both walked through the turnstile, inserting their tickets in the ticket taker so they could pass through. The train was practically empty, which was expected since it was pretty late at night. There were only three other people in the compartment they entered. The two sat next to each other by the doors.

They were about five stops away from their own, so they had some time on the train. By the time the train stopped a second time, Sayo was already dozing off in her seat. Ryu glanced down at her and saw her head down and shoulders slumped. Her chest was heaving in a steady rhythm. He removed his gaze from her and read the next stop name. Another stop passed by, as no one exited or entered the train. Halfway to the next stop, Ryu felt a little tap on his left shoulder, followed by a continuous weight. He glanced over at his shoulder to see what it was. Sayo's head was resting on his shoulder and he could see her peaceful face. He debated with himself about whether he should wake her up or not.

As he watched her sleep, he noticed her expression changing. Her eyebrows furrowed in sorrow, her expression becoming painful. He furrowed his own brows in confusion. What was she dreaming about? Then he saw tiny pearls of tears on her eyelashes shining in the light from the train. Her lips quivered, parting a little as she let out a sound in her sleep.

"Ryu…" was what she mumbled, almost inaudibly, even in the silent train compartment.

His eyes widened as he realized that she was still plagued by the events of the day before graduation. Closing his eyes and turning his head away from her, he cursed fate for letting her see that. Not that he had any control over that, but he still wished it hadn't happened and caused her pain. Opening his eyes again, he found that their stop was next. An announcement came on over the intercom right after he read the stop, telling the passengers the next stop and how long it would be before they arrived.

Ryu knew that he had to wake her before they got there so she had time to prepare for the walk that was to come. If only they had taken a taxi, he wouldn't have to worry about waking her up so they could walk. She would've been able to sleep the whole way to her house. But that wasn't happening.

He tapped her on her left shoulder. "Sayo-chan…" She stirred a little, but didn't awaken. "Sayo-chan, wake up…" he tried again.

"Mmm," Sayo fluttered her eyes open and looked up at him. It took her a few seconds to realize how close she was to him. After blinking twice, she immediately pulled her body up straight in her seat. "Sorry about that…" she couldn't look at him.

"Our stop is next," he told her, ignoring her embarrassment, but not looking at her.

Sayo said nothing. A moment later the train came to a stop and the doors opened. The two stood from their seats and left the compartment. The walked a good distance in silence before one of them spoke up.

"How's your dance class coming along?" Ryu asked, trying to ease the silence he could no longer stand.

"It's going good," Sayo answered with a small yawn. "Yoshida-kun wants me to be his official partner, so he's been training me for competitions."

"That's good for you," Ryu said, noting the way she referred to her dance teacher/partner. "Don't competitors make money for winning a competition?"

"I think so," Sayo answered thoughtfully. She honestly didn't know though.

The silence fell over them again. A group of young guys came out of an arcade, laughing and goofing around with each other. Sayo, curious about the sudden noise on the quiet street, peered over at the guys, not watching her step in her clumsy, exhausted state. She tripped over her own feet… Acting fast, Ryu stepped forward and caught her before her body fell very far. The young guys stopped walking for a moment and watched the two.

"You okay?" Ryu asked her, waiting for her to look up.

She sighed and lifted her head up to look at him. "Yeah, sorry about that…" she replied, a small embarrassed smile on her face.

"Just be careful," Ryu told her, letting her stand up straight on her own before taking his hands off her shoulders.

Sayo nodded once and yawned with a hand over her mouth. The young guys, seeing her face illuminated by the light, let out a whistle. Sayo blinked twice, and both her and Ryu looked over at them.

"Where did you come from?" one with long black hair and a playful smile asked suggestively.

"Yeah, never seen you around before," smirked the one in the middle, who also had black hair, but two strips of blond stuck out by his neck.

"Are you in high school?" asked the third, who had brown hair and a baby face.

"Want a taste of some ninth grade action?" the first boy who spoke wiggled his eyebrows.

"…" Sayo didn't have time to think of a retort.

"No, we're not," Ryu answered, sounding slightly irked by the question.

"Oh?" the first boy who spoke blinked. "Then what are you?"

"I'm a Toudai student," Ryu told him flatly.

"I've already graduated high school," Sayo answered, finally getting a word in the conversation.

"You guys shouldn't be out this late on a school night," Ryu told them, irritated immensely by their rude comments toward his friend.

"Neither should you," the one in the middle spat back. "Kura, Ichi, let's go."

With that, the guys continued down the sidewalk in the complete opposite direction Sayo and Ryu were going. Thank God. Ryu sighed in relief to see them leave that way. At least the situation didn't escalate in any way. The two simply let it go and continued toward Sayo's house. The walk was silent all the rest of the way. Sayo was too tired to talk and Ryu understood. After a while, the two stood in front of Sayo's home. Ryu looked up at the house. It was modern on the outside. He could only imagine what it looked like on the inside.

Sayo turned to Ryu to say good night, but was unable to word her farewell. "Sayo!" The two blinked in confusion and Sayo turned around to see who had called her name. She was met by her mother's happy face. "You're back a bit early, I thought you were going to be with the girls till late tonight."

"Oh, hey mom," Sayo regained herself quickly. "Yeah, but dance practice wore me out, so I came home to get some sleep."

"At least you know not to push yourself," Mayumi smiled at her daughter, finally noticing the young man behind her. "Who's this?"

"Oh," Sayo breathed, suddenly feeling quite awkward about Ryu meeting her mother. She wasn't sure why she felt awkward about it though. "This is my friend, Odagiri Ryu."

Ryu bowed in a formal greeting. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine," Mayumi bowed back, smiling at how gentleman like Ryu was for such a young man. For some reason the name sounded familiar to her. "I'm Tsukioka Mayumi."

Ryu nodded his head at the introduction. "Ah!" Sayo had a light bulb flash in her head. She still had Ryu's t-shirt and sweatpants he had lent her on graduation night. "I'll be right back!" And before Ryu or Mayumi could say anything, she was running into the house.

"I wonder what she's up to…" Mayumi mumbled with a finger to her chin. She eyed Ryu from the corner of her eyes and saw that his gaze was fixed on where Sayo had been a moment ago. Then she remembered. Saya had told her that Sayo liked this boy. A small smirk took over her lips.

Ryu said nothing, watching the front door and waiting for Sayo's return.

Mayumi began putting pieces of the puzzle together. This was the boy Sayo liked. Sayo had something for this boy in her room. Sayo came home in boy's clothes the morning after graduation. Sayo had been gone all night on graduation night at a boy's house. Sayo had seen this boy almost die. No one knew if this boy felt the same way about Sayo. For all anyone knew, the two could already have a romantic relationship. Nevertheless, this boy was the one Sayo liked and the one who had let her stay with him on the night of their graduation at his apartment.

"Thank you for helping her home," Mayumi smiled kindly at Ryu, startling him out of his stare by speaking suddenly.

"Ah, it was no trouble," Ryu shook his head, keeping a neutral face.

Sayo busted out of the front door with a plastic bag in her hand. She got next to him in the street, but bent over trying to catch her breath before she could hand it to him. "Here," she told him breathlessly, thrusting the bag in his direction. "Thanks for letting me borrow them."

"Oh," Ryu suddenly remembered that he had lent her some clothes the night she stayed over months ago. "From that time…" he mumbled lowly, so he didn't stir anything up with Sayo's mom being right there, and relieved her of the bag of clothes.

Sayo nodded her head once. She had heard what he said. "And thanks for helping me home," she continued, a sweet smile on her face. "who knows what would've happened if you hadn't been there to keep me awake on the train," she chuckled a little, even though she was a bit serious about it.

"No problem," Ryu shrugged. "Just make sure you get your sleep."

Sayo nodded enthusiastically once and smiled at him again. Mayumi cleared her throat, and the two looked over at her curiously. "I think it is late enough for both of you, yes?"

"Ah, yes," Ryu nodded, "good night Sayo-chan." He turned to walk away.

"Good night, Ryu-kun," Sayo told him before he was out of earshot.

When he was out of sight, Mayumi looked at Sayo suggestively. Sayo turned her head to her mother and was shocked by the face she being given. "What?"

"Ryu-kun?" Mayumi asked.

"It's not like that, geez," Sayo turned around, red in the face, and headed inside the house.

"Sure it's not…" Mayumi muttered to herself after the door shut behind her daughter. She looked over in the direction Ryu left in. "I wonder how he feels about their relationship…" Shrugging off the idea, Mayumi walked into her house.

Who knew what she was thinking in that mother brain of hers…


	20. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Got A Job, What!**

"It was late one night after dance practice when it happened…" Sayo spoke, telling the story to her dear cousin over the phone. Saya stayed quiet as Sayo told her story. "I was outside, walking slowly and singing to myself."

* * *

Sayo and Yoshida, a.k.a. DJ Tama, had finished their practice that night. Sayo left the building before he did, but wasn't walking very fast. It had been a very bland day for Sayo. A particular someone hadn't been prevented from entering her mind throughout the entire day. She found herself feeling quite like singing about her feelings while no one was around.

_"Tsutaeyou, yameyou (I'll get it across, I'll stop)_

_Kono mama kakusou (Just hide it away)_

_Nigekirenaku naru made (Until I can't run away anymore)_

_Shinjiyou, dame da you (I'll believe, that's no good)_

_Mada utagaesou da mono" (Cause I still don't wanna believe it)_

Yoshida had actually been behind her. She was unaware of his presence. Stunned by her voice, he said nothing and let her continue singing. He was enjoying the unexpected find. A diamond in the rough.

_"Ima made zutto himitsu ni shiteta (I've kept it quiet all this time)_

_Dare ni mo iwanaide (Don't tell anybody)_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Kanashikunai yo kimi ga iru kara (I'm not sad, cause you're here)_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Kizutsukenai to yakusoku shitemo (Even if I promise not to hurt you)_

_Dare ni mo wakaranai (Who knows really?)_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Kanashikunai yo kimi ga iru kara (I'm not sad, cause you're here)_

_Can you keep a secret?_

_Or kono mama secret?" (Or do I have to keep it secret?)_

After Sayo stopped singing, Yoshida clapped his hands as Ryu had done the night of their goukon. Sayo's eyes widened and she whipped around to see who she had been unintentionally serenading. Feeling completely embarrassed, her cheeks flared.

"You heard that?" she inquired shyly, knowing the answer was undesirable before even asking the question.

"If I did?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

Sayo furrowed her eyebrows at him and closed her eyes. "You won't tell anyone?"

"Why wouldn't I tell anyone?" he asked again, shocked that she didn't want anyone to hear her stunning voice. "Your voice is amazing, people should be able to hear it."

"it's not like I don't sing in front of people," she defended, opening her eyes again. "I'm just not used to singing in front of guys when alone with them…"

"So that's what it is," Yoshida nodded, understanding her dilemma. "But what about crowds of people?"

"Crowds are fine," Sayo told him, turning around to continue walking home.

"So it's just in front of guys, huh?" Yoshida caught up to her and walked beside her.

"Yeah," Sayo nodded, watching their surroundings. There were a bunch of people around them, walking in both directions on the sidewalk, having their own conversations.

"Well, I think there's a possibility that voice of yours could get you a job," Yoshida told her, a smirk playing his lips as he watched for her reaction.

Taking a second to let it sink in, Sayo kept walking. "Eh?" she whipped her head around to face him in curiosity.

"Yeah," Yoshida nodded. "Of course, I'd have to talk it over with my boss, but…" he trailed off, leaving her hanging.

"Wait, you don't know for sure?" Sayo asked to confirm her suspicions. Was he really telling the truth, or was he playing with her?

"I don't," Yoshida shook his head. "I did say possibility."

"Right," Sayo nodded her head once and returned her attention to her surroundings.

"I'll discuss it with him tomorrow before work and I'll let you know how it goes, okay?" Yoshida patted her shoulder for reassurance.

Sayo sighed, "Fine…"

"I'm sure he won't mind," Yoshida kept going. "Although, he might want to see it for himself before he puts you on…"

Sayo twitched a little once hearing that last part. She wasn't looking forward to performing in front of the owner of the Dream Star club, which she so frequently visited. She stayed quiet, not wanting to say anything at all. She just wanted to get home, she had been embarrassed enough for one night.

* * *

"So wait," Saya interjected, a bit confused at the moment. "how did you get the job if he didn't know you would be hired the night he told you about it?"

"If you would just be patient, I was about to explain how I got the job."

"Okay…" Saya shut up so Sayo could continue the story.

* * *

The next day, about two hours before the opening of the Dream Star club, Sayo got a call from Yoshida that the owner wanted to meet her personally. Suddenly, she felt extremely nervous and butterflies danced the Samba in her stomach like there was no tomorrow after the sunset. So, Sayo told her parents she was going out and left the house with mixed feelings.

Sayo entered the club through the front door, looked around timidly, and advanced inward a little bit. She saw Yoshida on the stage, prepping his turntables for the night to come. She cleared her throat and got his attention. He looked up curiously, only to find his dance partner standing near the front door timidly.

"It's not like this place is haunted when people aren't here you know," he told her jokingly.

"I know that!" Sayo retorted, feeling a bit more comfortable moving forward knowing he was there. It was nice to have someone you know around when dealing with nerve racking situations.

"Didn't seem like it," he teased in a friendly way.

"Where's the owner?" Sayo peered around curiously as she stood by the stage.

"He'll be out in a minute or so," Yoshida went back to his prepping, continuing what he was saying. "he's wishing his daughter good luck in university."

"Oh? His daughter graduated recently?" Sayo looked up at Yoshida with wide, surprised eyes.

"Yeah, she even went to the same school as you," he smirked, keeping his main focus on his work.

"Whoa, really?" Sayo breathed, completely shocked that she wasn't aware of this before. Yoshida didn't answer her.

The club was silent for a moment or two, except for small noises made from clinking glassware and the turntable. Sayo began to feel nervous again. Who was the owner's daughter? Did she know her? Sayo's mind was so preoccupied with these questions that she didn't even notice the owner enter the main floor.

"You are Tsukioka Sayo-san I presume?" he asked.

Sayo blinked twice and looked up quickly. The owner was a middle-aged man, with black hair, grey roots, light brown solemn eyes, and a small moustache. He wore a polo shirt with slacks and dress shoes, as expected of a professional. "Ah, yes!" Sayo responded finally, bowing in her spot. "It's nice to meet you sir."

"Please, the pleasure is all mine," he said with a friendly tone. "There's no need for all the formalities."

"Oh please, allow me that at least," Sayo asked kindly with another bow. "I always respect my elders."

"Well, that's very kind of you, Tsukioka-san," he chuckled as Sayo straightened herself. "I hear you have a voice that was granted by the Heavens."

"Oh," Sayo began to blush with embarrassment, "please, I-I wouldn't say that…" she looked down at her feet.

"On the contrary, I would," responded the owner kindly. "I trust in Yoshida-kun's judgment." The owner had a smile on his face. "And I trust my daughter's opinion of you as well."

"Your daughter knows me?" Sayo looked up at him, surprise evident on her face.

"Well, she knows very well of your singing ability at least," the owner chuckled a bit more, seeing the surprise on Sayo's face.

"My singing ability?" Sayo was confused now. Just who was his daughter exactly? Was she a member of the chorus?

"Yes, she showed me a video tape she had done for the school one year that featured you doing a solo," the owner explained.

"Oh, so she was in journalism?" Sayo began to put some pieces of the puzzle together. That would explain a lot. If his daughter was in journalism, everything made sense. The girls from journalism weren't in any of her classes, and always came to school events. That's why she didn't know his daughter.

"Yes, she said it was one of her favorite projects to do," the owner smiled again, nodding his head.

"Hmm…" Sayo nodded her head as well, feeling quite a bit better knowing this information.

"So, when Yoshida-kun brought up this little proposal of you working for me as a karaoke artist every other night in the club, I naturally began to think about it being a truly possibility." He paused in his speech so Sayo could stay on track. "When my daughter heard your name, she showed me the video of you singing, and I knew that Yoshida-kun was not lying to me."

Sayo nodded, keeping up with the explanation as best she could.

"I decided that I didn't need to see you perform in person, but knew I wanted to meet you face to face," the owner wrapped up his speech and extended his hand to Sayo. "Now, I will inform you that I have decided to hire you under Yoshida-kun's proposed schedule."

Sayo's eyes widened in excitement. "Really!" a huge smile spread across her lips and she grabbed his hand enthusiastically, shaking it. "Thank you so much!"

"The pleasure is all mine, and I look forward to working with you," the owner bowed as he excused himself to deal with other matters.

Sayo, once the owner was out of the room, turned to Yoshida. Without a word, she jumped up onto the stage and hugged him tightly. She squealed a thank you in his ear and began to laugh for no reason. He hugged her back and told her it wasn't a big deal.

"You start tomorrow," Yoshida told her, once she released him from her iron grip.

"Okay!" she nodded.

* * *

"And that's how it happened," Sayo finished her story with a smug smile on her face, Saya could tell just by hearing her cousin's voice through the phone…

"Wow, they must have been really impressed to actually let you have a job singing karaoke," Saya chuckled a little, knowing Sayo wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"I know right," Sayo laughed along with her cousin.

"How was your first night?" Saya asked, smiling through the phone.

"It went well, actually," Sayo said, sounding proud of herself. "I thought I would freeze up and fail completely, but I was wrong."

"It is kind of like singing at a concert for chorus, you know," Saya shrugged her shoulders even though Sayo couldn't see her.

"Yeah, you're right," Sayo responded with more chuckles.

"Well, it's getting late, and I've got classes tomorrow morning," Saya began her farewells.

"All right, I'll let you go then," Sayo complied.

"Night," Saya said, waiting for the same word to exit her cousin's mouth as well before she hung up.

"Oyasumi," Sayo told Saya before hanging up as well.

After that the line went dead.

* * *

"Please come again," Kuma called after the customer leaving his ramen shop. The door opened again immediately after the previous customer left and another entered the establishment. "Welcome!"

The man and woman who entered sat near the window silently and observed the menu on the wall over the counters. A moment later, the doors opened again, and Ryu and Hayato walked through the doors casually, taking a seat on the opposite side of the room as the man and woman by the window. Kuma came out from the back kitchen with two large bowls of ramen and brought them to a table with two businessmen in suits who were waiting for their lunch.

"Ah, you two," Kuma greeted once he saw Hayato and Ryu. The two nodded respectfully to the larger man. Before Kuma could say anything else to the younger two, he was interrupted.

"You can notice them, but you can't recognize an old friend?" the man by the window accused, sounding hurt and sarcastic at the same time. Of course, the voice was one Kuma could never forget, he had heard it for so long.

"Noda!" Kuma whipped his head around to the table the voice had come from, and a smile immediately graced his chubby face. "It's been too long!" Kuma advanced toward Noda's table to greet his old friend.

"Tell me about it," Noda chuckled a little.

Kuma looked down at the table for a second, seeing Noda wasn't alone. In fact, he was with a woman. "So, Noda, who's this?" the larger asked suggestively.

"Oh," Noda smirked, ignoring the suggestiveness of his old friend's voice. "This is my girlfriend, Tanaka Miku."

"Nice to meet you Kumai-san," Miku nodded her head respectfully. "I've heard a lot about you from Takeshi-kun."

"Oh, you're Noda's girlfriend?" Kuma seemed a little surprised. "I heard about you from Sayo-chan."

"Oh?" Takeshi and Miku blinked at that.

"Yeah, she seemed to be really fond of you," Kuma nodded his head, a smile on his chubby face. "Well, I'll let you figure out what you want to eat," Kuma turned around and saw Hayato and Ryu on the other side of the restaurant.

Takeshi and Miku continued to look on at the menu, deciding what to eat. There was low chatter in the ramen shop, since there were more than just the couple and the two young adults. Takeshi and Miku discussed their choices with each other for a little bit before actually ordering. Ryu and Hayato realized who the two were.

"Hey, haven't we seen those two with Sayo-chan before?" Hayato asked Ryu, gesturing in the direction of the couple, who were now ordering their lunch.

Ryu glanced over and saw Takeshi's face. On two other occasions he had seen this man. Once not long after they had met Sayo and the girls months ago, and later at the park one time when Saya and Sayo weren't with the other girls. The second time the same woman was there too. "Yeah, that's their cousin."

Hayato took another look at the man, this time a little longer. "You're right," Hayato agreed, recognizing Takeshi as well.

The two decided to not waste any more time and order their ramen before it got really crowded. A few minutes later, they saw Kuma bring the couple their ramen with a giant smile. After a small interaction between them, Kuma returned into the kitchen to make the boys' ramen.

* * *

Sayo had already been working as a karaoke artist for two weeks now. She was loving it!

Tonight, she was going to have a fun dress to wear, courtesy of Yoshida Tamaki. It was a short sleeveless dress that the owner was given by his daughter, not that he had any real use for it. So, Yoshida got this great idea to have Sayo wear it one night and see what happened. Sayo had a few words to say when she first heard about it, but conformed quickly with a sigh. She ended up changing into it early to get used to having it on.

"I can't believe I agreed to this…" Sayo muttered to herself after emerging from the back, pulling at the hem of the dress. An embarrassed blush covered her cheeks as she kept walking.

Yoshida turned his head toward her curiously when he heard her muttering and was a bit surprised. He whistled at her, earning an embarrassed glare. "Looks good."

"Shut up…" she spat and headed toward the bar to get a drink before the night started. Oh, how this night would be long for her bare legs.

"Well, you do look good," the bartender added as Sayo sat down on a barstool. "Have to give him that."

"Please, don't make it worse…" Sayo sighed heavily, the embarrassment still causing her face to stay red. "Something good to drink would be nice right now…"

"Coming up," he told her and immediately got to work on her order.

Sayo watched him, and could only imagine how hard it must be for him every night. There were always so many people in the club every night. How he managed to fill all the orders by himself and not get any angry customers eluded her. "How do you manage every night?" she asked suddenly.

He peered at her out of the corners of his eyes, still making her drink. "I don't even know, honestly."

Sayo chuckled a little. "Seriously though, are you the only bartender who works here?"

"Nah, there's another guy who works here and some other place on and off during the week."

"Hm," Sayo nodded her head in understanding.

He came back towards her with her drink and handed it over. "It's a fruity drink, virgin since you're underage."

Sayo chuckled again as she took her first sip. "I would hope so."

He waited for her verdict before he turned away.

"Mm!" Sayo squealed, "Umai!"

"Glad you like it," he smirked and turned to walk away.

"Hey, could you use an apprentice to help you?" she asked hurriedly before he got away.

He stopped and turned to her with a questioning look on his face.

"I have a friend who had been an apprentice before, but he kind of got fired for other reasons…" Sayo explained, trying to leave out the part about the place being an underground gambling hotspot.

"Hm…" the bartender thought for a moment. "I suppose I could use help, but we'd have to ask the boss about hiring the kid."

"But you're willing?" Sayo asked hopefully.

"Yeah, why not," he shrugged. "Not like I'll be here forever you know."

Sayo smiled widely and stood up happily. "Thank you so much!" she bowed from in front of the bar.

The bartender only chuckled and continued to set up for the night to come.

Sayo drank the rest of the drink he had prepared for her and bounded over to Yoshida. She jumped up onto the stage and grabbed a microphone. He was testing some songs out and she was warming up her vocals.

"Hey," she began a few minutes later, getting his attention. "Do you think we could talk to the boss about hiring an apprentice bartender?"

"Hm, it might not be a bad idea," Yoshida nodded his head, thinking. "He has been a bit worried about Kojima being alone every night lately."

"Cause I have a friend who's been looking for a job for a while now and he's had prior experience," Sayo explained.

"Yeah, we should bring it up with him," Yoshida nodded again. "Have your friend stop by some time next week, and we'll talk with the boss."

"Great!" Sayo smiled widely and returned to warming up.

* * *

The next morning, Sayo found herself contacting Mitsu. She had plans to have Mitsu tell her man about the job opportunity and to have him meet Sayo there this coming Wednesday. All Sayo heard was ringing as she began to get impatient. She was bursting at the seams with this news. She felt so happy that she could help a friend in need instead of feeling like she was useless.

"Hello?" Mitsu finally answered her phone.

"Hey, I have something big to tell you," Sayo knew she couldn't keep it in much longer. It took every fiber in her body to keep from spilling her guts right that second.

"Well, what is it?" Mitsu asked, a little impatiently.

Okay, I have a job interview for Hyuga-kun and I need you to tell him about it," Sayo explained quickly.

"Okay, where at?" Mitsu was neutral.

"It's at the Dream Star Club and he needs to be there on Wednesday before we open for the night," Sayo continued explaining.

"Oh, what kind of job is it?" Now Mitsu sounded curious.

"It's for a position as an apprentice bartender," Sayo smiled. "I remember that he had a similar job during school, but the place was closed down by Kumiko-sempai."

"Yeah, I remember too," Mitsu answered. "All right, I'll give him a call to let him know."

"Thanks," Sayo smiled again. "I would've told him myself, but I don't know where he lives or his number so, I figured you were my best bet."

"Yeah, it's not a problem," Mitsu chuckled. "I've got class now, so I'll see you later, Sayo-chan."

"Mm, take care" Sayo nodded and the line went dead.

* * *

So, Wednesday afternoon, Hyuga showed up at the Dream Star Club in a presentable outfit for his interview. He stood outside the club, gathering his courage. Of course, he couldn't help but remember the talk he had with his mother before he had left the house. He couldn't blame her for worrying about him, but it was a bit much. He had to reassure her several times that the club was reputable in a good way and it wouldn't be like last time. He wasn't going to get hurt at this one.

Feeling confident about himself, he knocked on the door three times. It took a few minutes for someone to answer the door. Sayo's face peered out from behind it.

"Oh, Hyuga-kun!" Sayo smiled, opening the door wide while motioning for him to enter.

"Hey, Sayo-chan, is this a good time?" he asked as he took a step inside the club. The main room was half lit up, most of the light focused on the stage.

"Yeah, perfect time," Sayo nodded, leading him in towards the bar area. "The boss just got here too."

"Oh, well, at least I didn't miss him," Hyuga-kun let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in.

"Don't worry," Sayo assured him with a smile as they both stopped moving, having reached the bar. "He's not mean at all, it'll be easy."

"Thanks," Hyuga showed her a crooked smile and turned his head toward the two men sitting at the other end of the area.

"Welcome, you must Hyuga-kun," the owner stood from his seat as Hyuga neared him and Kojima.

"Yes," Hyuga answered with a polite bow. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," the owner returned the kindness and sat down.

"I'm Kojima," the man next to the owner stood and stretched his hand out toward Hyuga. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," Hyuga nodded and shook Kojima's hand firmly.

"Please, let's sit," the owner instructed, and the other two sat down as well.

"So, Hyuga-san, I hear you have previous experience as a bartender's apprentice," the owner started causally.

"Yes, though it was only for about a week," Hyuga answered the unasked question.

"Oh?" the owner sounded curious. Kojima sat quietly, watching Hyuga.

"Yes, I was unaware that the place I was working at had been participating in illegal underground gambling activities," Hyuga confessed, not wanting to lie to his potential employer.

"I see," the owner nodded his head. "Do you feel that you have the capabilities to assist Kojima here in our nightly crowd?"

"With the proper training, I believe I will be able to succeed," Hyuga answered honestly.

Kojima chuckled with a crooked smirk on his face. "I like you kid, you're real honest."

Hyuga was caught off guard by the comment that he had nothing to say in response.

"Well, if Kojima feels that you are suitable for the job, I will not interject in the decision," the owner told Hyuga solemnly, earning a confused look from the boy. "After all, Kojima is the one who will be training you and dealing with you outright, I would only want someone in that place that he feels he can handle."

"Thank you very much," Hyuga bowed in his seat.

"Yeah, I'll take him under my wing, why not," Kojima shrugged. "We need more young people working this place anyways."

"Truly, thank you very much," Hyuga repeated as they all stood from their seats.

"Thank you for filling this spot," the owner smiled. "And welcome to the team."

Hyuga bowed once again in gratitude.

"If you want, we can start your training now," Kojima offered.

Hyuga stood up straight again. "Yes, that would be wonderful."

"All right, come on back and grab an apron."

"Yes."

Kojima showed Hyuga all the basics and where all the different drinks were. Hyuga had to know where just about everything was located behind the bar. Glasses, cups, shot glasses, the drinks, the utensils, the shakers, just about everything. The only things he was told he never had to worry about knowing where it was were the food and the stove. They actually did have a cook, believe it or not.

Sayo was made to wear the short dress again since it had gone over very well with the crowd last time. Hyuga got a small break and was able to see Sayo practicing on stage before the club opened. She looked like she was having a really good time and there was no one to impress. Not really anyway.

"I see you're admiring our karaoke singer," Kojima came in out of nowhere, startling Hyuga.

"Huh?"

"Don't tell me you have a thing for her?" Kojima eyed Hyuga curiously.

"No, no," Hyuga shook his head. "Sayo-chan and my girlfriend are friends."

"Ah, so that's how she knows you," Kojima nodded his head in understanding and watched the young woman on the stage dancing as she sang her heart out.

"Well, kind of," Hyuga shrugged his shoulders. "Both of our groups met when we were in the last few months of high school."

"Ah sou," Kojima nodded again, not looking away from Sayo.

"I think someone else has eyes for her though," Hyuga admitted. "Although, she is really cute, I'll give her that."

"True," Kojima smirked and turned around to continue setting up for the night.

Hyuga followed his lead and worked diligently to memorize the places of all the things he was to remember.

* * *

Ryu stood behind the counter at the convenience store he worked at part time at night. It was late, he was bored, and the traffic was really slow tonight. The middle of the week was always slow, no matter what time of the day it was. He hated Wednesdays. The only plus to this job was that it was close to his apartment. He glanced at the clock. Hayato should've been home by now, that is, if he wasn't out somewhere. Not that Ryu particularly cared. A night alone would be nice for a change…

A young couple walked into the store and busied themselves in the frozen food section of the store. Ryu sounded a faint welcome to them but was unheard. He shrugged his shoulders at the two and stood there quietly watching the clock. He had nothing else to listen to except for the mumblings of the couple who were deciding on what they were going to have for dinner tonight. The couple finally decided on something and made their way up to the register. Ryu blinked and shifted his gaze to his customers.

"Good evening, did you find everything all right?" he asked as he rang up their frozen meal. He wasn't really interested, but he put on a decent front in order to keep his job.

"Yeah, we were able to find everything okay," the young man answered, getting out his wallet from his back pocket.

"You guys have a big selection of frozen foods," the young woman smiled as she watched Ryu.

"That'll be 650 yen," Ryu told them as he put their food in a paper bag.

"Here we are, 650 yen even," the young man handed the cash over to Ryu.

Ryu exchanged the money with the bag and put it in the cash register. The register printed out their receipt and Ryu ripped it from the slot. "Here's your receipt, hope you have a nice evening."

"Thanks, you too," the young couple accepted their receipt and headed out.

"Please come again," Ryu lightly called after them and sighed heavily. How he hated having to be friendly with complete strangers. But it was the only job he had actually gotten a call back for, so he had no objections to the requirements. At least it paid the rent.

The doors opened again and Ryu called out a faint greeting to the customer, but stopped short when he saw his roommate. Ryu's face fell back to it's normal state.

"Yo, came by cause we don't have much more to eat at the apartment," Hayato explained to Ryu as he walked back toward the frozen and instant foods.

Ryu had nothing to say to his roommate. He watched the clock again as Hayato filled up a basket full of instant and frozen foods. When Hayato returned to the cash register, Ryu was somewhat surprised. Hayato had picked out things that both of them would eat without having to ask about what Ryu wanted. At least the guy was making progress.

"How was work?" Ryu asked as he rang up their food.

"Eh, there were a lot of customers when I got off, but the others were able to handle it," Hayato shrugged, watching the price on the register rise.

"Sure you can afford all this?" Ryu asked, still ringing up the food.

"Yeah, I think so…" Hayato muttered as he continued to watch the price.

"And your rent won't be impaired?" Ryu struck gold.

"Well," Hayato looked away, "I get paid soon, so it shouldn't be impaired…"

"Uh huh."

"Here, just take the money, all right!" Hayato thrust the money toward his roommate and grabbed the bags, waiting for the receipt.

"All right," Ryu shrugged and handed over the receipt.

"See you later, got some good news to tell you about when you get back," Hayato called as he left the store.

"Please come again," Ryu mocked his best friend in his best customer service voice. Through the glass doors Ryu could see Hayato shiver at the sound of his voice. Ryu smirked and thanked God his shift was almost over. Too much more of this and his mind would explode from trying to avert thoughts of a certain girl from his head.

* * *

Hayato was lounging on the couch when Ryu walked in the door to the apartment. "I'm home," Ryu muttered as he switched his shoes.

"Hey, get comfy and I'll tell you the news," Hayato greeted, eating some candy he had bought at the convenience store earlier.

Ryu disregarded the comment about getting comfy and entered his room to change out of the uniform into something that was more like him. Placing his name tag and cell phone on his nightstand, Ryu discarded his dirty uniform into the laundry basket in his room, replacing it with a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He came back out of his room and sat on the couch.

Hayato had sat up just in time for Ryu to not sit on his feet. "So, you ready for this?"

"Go on," Ryu shrugged his shoulders, not really paying too much attention to Hayato. He had some stupid reality show on the TV that was not interesting either.

"Hyuga has a job now," Hayato told Ryu. "Apparently it was a recommendation from Sayo-chan for him to work as the bartender's apprentice at the Dream Star club."

"Well, that's good for Hyuga," Ryu nodded his head, still not paying much attention.

"Yeah," Hayato nodded his head with his eyes closed.

"Well, if that's all you wanted, I'm going to bed, I've got class in the morning."

"Night," Hayato blinked at Ryu's bored behavior before shrugging it off as normal and returned his attention to the TV.

Ryu returned to his bedroom and climbed into his bed. He stared up at the ceiling, not thinking about anything. Out of nowhere, her face popped up in his mind. Having nothing to do but sleep, he allowed the thoughts of her to take over his mind. He closed his eyes, visualizing the memories. He thought back to the first time he had seen her dance, the night she had gotten angry at the guys, what she looked like at the karaoke goukon, the way she blushed that night when he complimented her, and when he had first laid eyes on her. Back then, he had no idea she would affect him the way she has. In one way he wished these feelings had never appeared in him. In another way he wished he could just get it over with and tell her how he felt. The only question was, how did he feel?

If only he knew the answer to that question…


	21. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: That's A Big Question You're Asking Me…**

Weeks went by. Hyuga got better under Kojima's guidance. The girls were all making good grades in their classes. Hayato was enjoying his work. Tsuchi and Take were keeping in touch with Maki and Juri. Ryu was bored out of his mind everyday. And Sayo did her best to be a suitable partner for Yoshida. It was now the beginning of August…

* * *

Saya walked along the streets one afternoon, enjoying the fall breeze and the colors the trees had began to turn. She had heard from Juri about a coffee shop that served good coffee and cappuccinos. So, she was on a hunt to find the place to test it out herself. For some reason, the name of the place sounded a bit familiar to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She figured it would come to her once she saw the place.

Saya finally came upon the establishment she had been looking for. The Coffee Beanery. The place still not ringing any bells. Upon entering, she made her way to the counter while scanning the menu for a drink she wanted. She hadn't paid any attention to the people standing behind the counter at the register. All the guys on duty were watching her with lustful eyes.

"Welcome, are you ready to order?" Hayato turned around with his eyes closed and asked the customer at his register. He had been busy when Saya had walked in and hadn't known who was there.

"Yes, I would-" Saya stopped short, realizing just whose voice she was hearing, and finally why she should've recognized the name of the place in the first place. She was the one who made him apply here after all. "Yabuki-kun!" she looked in front of her to find the one and only Yabuki Hayato standing there with a smile on his face.

"Eh?" he finally opened his eyes, recognizing the voice of the girl. "Ah! Saya-chan!"

"Wow, so they really hired you," she smirked, looking at him in his uniform.

"Yeah, they did," he admitted with embarrassment. "So, what would you like to order?" he asked her again, not wanting to get scolded for this by his supervisor.

"Oh yeah, a white chocolate caramel cappuccino please," she smiled.

"All right, your order will be up in a minute, you can have a seat at any table you want," he told her. Because it was his job. And he needed to keep his job. Or else Ryu would become a murderer…

"I'll be waiting for it," she smirked at him playfully and walked over to a table by the front window of the store.

"…" Hayato couldn't say anything back to that face he had gotten. A small blush creeped up onto his face and he turned around to place her order with the rest of the crew.

The other two guys at the other registers quickly dealt with their customers and immediately jumped on Hayato's case about Saya. "So, how do you know that hottie?"

"Hah?" Hayato was a tad confused, but quickly realized they were talking about Saya. It was obvious.

"That girl, how the hell do you know her?"

"High school," Hayato answered simply. Too simply.

"Do you know if she's got a boyfriend?"

"I don't know," Hayato found himself getting quite angry with them for taking an interest in her. He couldn't blame them for it, but it still wasn't favorable for him. He wouldn't want them to ask her out.

"Well, can I take her order to her?" one of them asked. "I wanna ask her out."

"No, she's my customer, you have your own," Hayato told him flatly. With that, he grabbed her cappuccino and made his way to her table. "I'm taking my break," he called back to the supervisor so he could talk with Saya.

"Man, what's with him?"

"Who knows…"

Hayato made his way to Saya's table and set the steaming drink in front of her carefully. "One white chocolate caramel cappuccino," he sat across from her.

"Don't you have work?" Saya asked with serious eyes. Her cappuccino was radiating warmth on her neck from where it sat on the table in front of her.

"I'm on break," Hayato told her, looking her dead in the eyes, intent on not looking away.

"Oh, in that case," she smiled and carefully grabbed her cup and brought it to her face. Blowing gently on the liquid first, she took a small sip to test the taste. She blinked after swallowing. "Wow…"

"It's good huh?" Hayato smirked at her expression.

"Yeah, it's great," Saya smiled like child.

"I can see why they like you," he mumbled low to himself, watching her smile. He smirked at the irony of the whole situation. She had no idea how he felt about her, at least not that he knew of.

"Did you say something?" she asked innocently. There was quite a bit of chatter around them from the other customers. She wasn't sure if he was talking to her or not.

"No, nothing," he shook his head. He didn't want her to know what the other guys had been thinking. He didn't want her to take an interest in them, in all actuality. He was feeling quite selfish at the moment. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep guys away from her.

"Well, I can see you're quite popular here," she smirked at him, glancing around the room and seeing all the girls watching the two of them with anticipation while trying not to seem obvious.

"What?" Hayato blinked, caught off guard by her observation.

"All the girls in here are watching us intently," Saya told him, smirk still present.

"So?" Hayato didn't really notice the girls around them. Saya had that kind of effect on him.

"I'm just saying," Saya shrugged, taking another careful sip of her steaming hot cappuccino.

"Are you jealous?" he asked out of nowhere, feeling a bit aroused by the topic.

"Hah!" she breathed after a quick, burning swallow. Her face depicted embarrassment and skepticism.

"Well?" he was enjoying her expression.

"O-of course I'm not jealous, what are you, crazy?" she closed her eyes and swallowed more of the steaming liquid. She winced a little from the burning sensation on her tongue and breathed outward in an attempt to cool down her mouth.

"Nah, just curious, that's all," he teased, watching her with amusement. Her attempts were futile. He got up and grabbed a few ice cubes for her. "Here."

"Huh?" she looked up at him, his hand outstretched toward her with three ice cubes on a napkin. "Ah, thanks…" she nodded her head and set them on the table. She put them in her drink and watched them melt.

Hayato sat back down in front of her. "Honestly, that was pretty reckless of you," he told her. "You know that liquids hot."

"Yeah, well, shut up okay," she closed her eyes and looked away to hide her blush. "Jeez…"

"You busy tonight?" he asked her out of nowhere.

"Huh?" she looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Are you busy tonight?" he asked again.

"Uh, not sure," Saya answered, but immediately got a little suspicious of him. "Why, are you asking me out?"

"If you want to call it that, sure," Hayato smirked. After all, she had said it that way.

"What do you want to do?" she ignored him. She was a bit curious as to why he would ask her to go somewhere with him so suddenly.

"Just talk, figured we could eat out," he shrugged his shoulders. "But if you don't want to, it's all right."

"Hm…" Dinner would be nice. She hadn't been out to a nice restaurant in a while now. But, she didn't know where he had in mind, and she wasn't sure if he'd pay or not. After all, she didn't have that much money. Her rent was due a couple days ago.

Hayato let her think. Her thoughtful face was cute to him. He just watched her, waiting for her answer. He really didn't mind if she turned him down. After all, his part of the rent was due tomorrow, and he didn't really have the money to pay for two people's dinner tonight. Ryu would kill him if he didn't pay his share.

"Oh," Saya seemed to have remembered something. "I forgot, I've got class tonight, and I'm supposed to go see Sayo."

"Oh, really? How's she been, by the way," Hayato seemed not surprised, but a little content.

"She's been good," Saya nodded with a smile. "But yeah, she told me that Tama had some big question to ask her today, I wonder what it is…" she trailed off.

"Oh, sounds like her dancing career is hitting off well," Hayato nodded his head, amazed by the girl's raw talent. "Oh, gotta get back to work, just stop by the register when you're done, alright?"

"Oh, yeah, see you," Saya nodded and sipped carefully at her cappuccino so she didn't burn herself again.

Hayato left her at the table and returned to his register to take orders of new customers who had just walked in. By the time Saya was done, the two had such a quick goodbye, it was almost as if they had never met a day in their lives before.

* * *

Tsuchi walked into the Zest Cantina and sat down at the bar. The girls were bustling around, taking people's orders and cleaning tables as usual. He waited patiently for Kiri to come by. They had talked earlier that day and they were going to go on a date after she got off work. He was there to pick her up. What a good boyfriend.

"Oh, Tsuchi," Kiri greeted with a wide smile. Mitsu and Maki were behind her, fixing some drinks for other customers. "Hang on, I'll be off in a few minutes."

"No hurry," he told her with a smirk. He watched her as she delivered drinks and a plate of food to a couple up on the upper level by the window. She came back and took one more tray out to a table of four guys on the floor.

"Here you go," she smiled at them, glowing, while handing them their food.

"Wow, you're glowing Kiri-chan," one of the guys noticed.

"Yeah, what's the occasion?" another asked.

"Oh, my boyfriend is here," she continued to smile while standing up straight. "This is all, right?"

"Yeah, thanks for the food," they all nodded simultaneously before eating.

"Here's the bill, pay before you leave, okay?" she told them and took off into the back to change out of her uniform.

"Here, Tsuchiya-kun, she may take a few minutes," Maki smiled as she handed him a glass of water.

"Oh, thanks," he nodded, accepting the water and taking a long sip of it.

Kiri came back out in a light pink t-shirt with a printed drawing of a girl in a meadow holding a cat on it, teal plaid capris, and white converse folded over. The inside and back of the tongue had a skull print on it. She looked really cute as she made her way over to Tsuchi. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = KiriCapris2 .jpg )

Tsuchi swallowed hard upon seeing her. She was too cute. He couldn't stop himself from blushing a bit at the sight of her. Once she was next to him, he cleared his throat. "You look cute," he told her with a smirk.

"Why thank you, Tsuchi," she smiled, followed by a small childish giggle.

Tsuchi stood from his seat and offered her his hand. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," she nodded once and placed her hand in his. As they walked out, Kiri looked over her shoulder at the others two, "See you later!"

"Have fun," Mitsu and Maki called after them with smiles.

"Man, lucky Kiri, going out on a date with her boyfriend…" Mitsu pouted once alone with Maki.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad, can it?" Maki asked, trying to make the girl feel better. It obviously wasn't working very well.

"It can, actually," Mitsu spat out sourly. "I haven't heard from Kou-kun ever since he got his job…"

"I'm sure he's working very hard," Maki reassured her friend. "After all, he does work a night job…"

"That's probably the worst part," Mitsu grumbled. "He loves girls, I'm sure he's already found another girl he's interested in and is already pursuing her…"

"Hey, don't say things like that, he was the one who confessed first, remember?" Maki scolded Mitsu for talking like that.

"Yeah, but, the girls at that club are all so pretty…" Mitsu added in.

"Hey, they're not better than you, so just stop being negative," Maki was getting mad now. Mitsu was never a negative person. "If you want to talk to him so badly, call him."

"Okay, I will after work," Mitsu stood up straight and nodded her head.

"Good, now go serve those people with a smile," Maki told her.

"Right!" Mitsu nodded her head and left from behind the bar with a tray full of food and drinks.

"Jeez, that girl…" Maki sighed, taking her own tray out to serve the customers.

* * *

Juri sat in class, taking notes while her professor lectured. Her two roommates were in the same class, so they were sitting together. Juri never participated in any conversations during a lecture. The professor scolded anyone who did so. Juri hadn't wanted to be put into that position, so she always kept her mouth shut. Her roommates, however, were quite a different case. Whenever the professor had his back turned, they would make small talk about plans for later that night. Sometimes it was about dinner plans, others game nights. But this time, it was about a goukon they were planning on participating in. They only needed one more girl to go with them in order to make both sides even. Juri's only words to them were 'after class'.

So, they confronted the quiet girl after class was over.

"Kitano-chan, please, we only need one more girl to go with us," Mizuki pleaded.

"Yeah, the guys are supposed to be really nice and handsome," Fuyumi added, pleading just like Mizuki.

"I don't know…" Juri thought, contemplating what could go wrong, and what could go right. The 'wrong' was outweighing the 'right' at the moment.

"Please, just this once," Mizuki continued.

"Yeah, you can leave whenever you want to," Fuyumi tried to bargain with Juri. It wasn't really working.

"I don't think I can you two," Juri told them in a gentle voice.

"Aw, now we have to find someone else to go with us…" Mizuki pouted like a child.

"We can still go even though we're short one girl," Fuyumi shrugged.

"Thank you for inviting me though," Juri bowed politely to them.

"Oh, sure, anytime," Fuyumi smiled.

"Well, I guess we don't need to tell you we won't be back until late, huh?" Mizuki chuckled, perking up suddenly.

"I'll probably be asleep when you two get back in," Juri nodded her head with a cheerful smile. "So, be safe okay?"

"We will," Fuyumi and Mizuki reassured their quiet roommate and headed off campus to their destination for their goukon.

Juri sighed once the two were out of sight and turned toward the dorms. Another night alone. Those two were always going out on a goukon or partying with others. Juri honestly had no idea how she had ended up with such roommates nor how the two were even able to keep their grades up.

* * *

That night, Sayo and Yoshida were the only two left at the dance studio. He was trying to help her perfect her posture this time. They were also working on bettering her basic techniques so they could move on to more complicated dances. This way, they'd be able to enter a competition soon and hopefully win. As of now, she knew how to salsa, mamba, rumba, cha cha, waltz, and tango. Sayo's style was more upbeat, so Yoshida stuck to dances that were Latin. Of course, she had to know how to slow dance. They were ballroom dancers after all.

They finally finished for the night and Sayo was tired. She had forgotten that she was supposed to go out with Saya tonight. However, she did remember Yoshida had a question to ask her. "So, you have a question for me?" she smirked at him toweling her neck.

"Oh yeah," he nodded, toweling his own neck, and visibly thinking about how to word the question. "Don't take this the wrong way, now."

"Just ask the question, and then we'll take it from there," she told him, wiping her forehead of sweat.

"All right," Yoshida sighed and turned to her, a serious expression on his face. "I would like it if you would accompany me to America to compete in dance competitions."

Sayo had nothing to say. She was too shocked for words. They hadn't competed in any competitions over here, why would he want to take her to America without even testing out her abilities here first? She didn't quite get it. Either he wasn't being serious and this was a joke, or he had a ton of confidence in her. "For real?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"But, we haven't even competed over here," Sayo blurted out, still trying to figure out if this were reality or if she were dreaming.

"We will be competing in a competition in two weeks," Yoshida told her. This was the first she'd heard of it. "We'll see if my assumptions are correct then."

"Why didn't you tell me that last week!" she half yelled, a bit irritated with being left out of the news.

"I planned on telling you, but you were busy all the time," he told her. It was true. They were always swamped at the Dream Star, he had things to do during the day, she was helping her aunt, and they had been so focused on improving her posture that he hadn't told her about the competition yet.

Sayo sighed, realizing what he said was true. "When would we be leaving?" she asked, curious and wanting to know every little detail of what she might be getting herself into.

"On December 31st, so we can start a fresh year in America," Yoshida answered, a small smile on his face.

"Hmm, after Christmas…" Sayo nodded, looking thoughtful.

"I hope you can consider it," he added in. He really wanted her to go.

"Just let me think about it, okay?" She asked, suddenly feeling tired.

"All right, have fun with Saya-chan tonight," he told her as she began to leave the studio.

Sayo stopped in her tracks. "You're right, I had plans with her!"

"Better get going then," he told her with a small chuckle under his breath.

"Ahh! I forgot!" Sayo smacked her forehead and whipped out her cell phone, speed dialing Saya while exiting the studio.

Yoshida closed his eyes and shook his head. "Honestly, that girl…" he waited a few moments before grabbing his belongings, locking up the place, and leaving for home.

* * *

"Saya," Sayo spoke into the phone once Saya had answered.

"Where are you?" Saya asked her cousin.

"I'm on my way now," Sayo answered. "I kinda forgot with all that's gone on tonight…" Sayo admitted shyly.

"That's alright, just get here now," Saya told her cousin.

"Alright, I'll be there in a few," Sayo nodded her head and they both hung up. They were meeting at Shirokin park by the fountain. Sayo didn't have much farther to go.

"Sayo, over here!" Saya called her over once she had entered her sight.

"Oh, hey," Sayo jogged over to Saya and sat down on the edge of the fountain, taking deep breaths.

"You okay?" Saya asked with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, fine," Sayo nodded, still breathing heavy.

"So," Saya started. "what'd he ask you?"

"Oh, that…" Sayo nodded her head, catching her breath.

"Yeah, that," Saya nodded her head, waiting for the news.

"Well, he asked me if I would accompany him to America later this year," Sayo informed her cousin.

"Wow…" Saya breathed. It was hard to believe. "That's a big question…"

"I know," Sayo agreed, sitting up straight on the edge of the fountain.

"It's almost as big as a marriage proposal…" Saya muttered, not fully believing the question.

"I don't want you to tell anyone else, okay?" Sayo looked Saya dead straight in the eye, seriously. "This is just between us until I decide, got it?"

"Mm," Saya nodded her head, an equally serious expression on her face. "I promise I won't tell anyone else."

"Especially any of the guys, it'd spread like wildfire…" Sayo muttered, looking over at the flowing water in the fountain.

"Understood," Saya felt the same, in all actuality. It would be a bad idea to spread this news around before anything was really decided on. Who knew what the others would say to Ryu and what he would think.

Sayo sighed loudly, thinking the same exact thing. What if Ryu found out prematurely? How would he react? Would she be able to face him? Probably not. She hadn't seen him for months now. Even so, he was still on her mind. Every song she sang every night, she found some kind of hidden meaning in it that reminded her of how she felt around Ryu. How he made her feel when they were together, alone or not. She shook her head and patted her cheeks twice to snap herself out of the thoughts.

"Why don't you go home and get some rest, okay? It's been a long day for you, I'm sure," Saya suggested.

Sayo looked up at her cousin and hesitated for a moment before nodding her head in agreement and standing up. "You're right."

"I'll see you another time, okay?" Saya smiled comfortingly. She patted Sayo's shoulder.

"Yeah, see you," Sayo nodded and headed off towards her house.

Saya watched her cousin's back fade away into the night surroundings. Once she could no longer see her, she sat back down on the fountain edge and let a sigh escape her lips. "America huh?" Saya mumbled to herself, still a bit in disbelief about the question. "I wonder how long he'd keep her there…" Saya looked up at the dark night sky and saw a few stars hanging there.

* * *

Two weeks went by in a flash. Sayo and Yoshida worked their hardest to get their routine perfect before the competition. Saya was keeping in touch with Sayo to encourage her to do her best during the competition. At times like this, Sayo wished she could talk to Kumiko the most. She always knew how to make Sayo feel confident in herself and do her best. Now it was up to her to make herself feel that way. Without help from Kumiko.

Saya sat at the bar in the Zest Cantina with Juri, watching Kiri, Mitsu and Maki bustle around filling orders.

"I hope she's not freaking out," Saya let out her concerns. She wasn't able to attend the competition to watch Sayo and Yoshida, so all she could do was pray that they won.

"You talking about Sayo?" Juri asked curiously.

"Yeah."

"What about Sayo?" Maki asked as she stopped to catch her breath in front of the two girls.

"Oh, she and DJ Tama are participating in a ballroom competition today," Saya explained.

"Oh, cool," Maki smiled. "I hope they win."

"Yeah, Sayo's been really nervous about it lately," Saya agreed, staring at the top of the bar.

"Oh, what for?" Juri asked.

"Well, her performance in the competition, and…" Saya swore to Sayo that she wouldn't tell them about the question yet. Sayo had told her that lately, the thoughts of Ryu had been invading her mind more and more. "She's been a bit distracted by her thoughts recently…"

"Oh, poor Sayo," Juri mumbled.

"But she'll be fine, I know it," Saya looked up with confidence in her eyes. "I know they can win, I have faith."

"Yeah!" Maki and Juri agreed.

* * *

Sayo stood next to Yoshida while they awaited the results of the competition. She was nervous beyond belief. She kept thinking about the possibilities of them not even placing. What if they completely failed and just looked like idiots? She didn't want to lose, but didn't think she was talented enough to stand a chance against everyone else who was a professional around her. She felt out of place and scared. She had to stop thinking about the results. She needed to find a way to distract her until the judges were done deliberating their decision. Yoshida was very confident in her. She would feel terrible if she ended up letting him down.

In an attempt to calm down, she envisioned herself standing alone in the streets while the rain came down. The sound of the rain was soothing. The feeling of each drop hitting her skin in such a rhythmic way was calming. Then, a memory struck her and an umbrella was over her head. She peered to her left and saw Ryu standing there, holding out the umbrella to her. Then, it was as if she were watching a movie of someone else's life. This was her memory of the day the girls helped the guys job hunt two days after graduation. Sayo had almost forgotten that it had rained that day. She had to think of something else quickly, but she couldn't imagine a situation fast enough that didn't link back to a memory that didn't involve Ryu.

"Have the judges reached a decision?" the announcer asked, seeing the judges all nodding their heads after talking to one another.

"We have," the senior judge announced as the three of them turned to face the contestants waiting for their verdict.

"Please, will the judges reveal the places," the announcer prompted them to begin announcing the winners.

"In third place, we have Kawamura Shinoda pair," the female judge announced with a smile and Kawamura and his current partner walked forward to receive their award. The prizes included money and such.

"In second place, in a very close vote, we have Yoshida Tsukioka pair," the younger male judge announced and everyone clapped for the two as they advanced forward. Sayo had to take a few seconds to realize what was happening before she moved from her place.

"And in first place, winning by one singular vote, we have Sawaki Kobayashi pair," the senior judge announced and everyone clapped for the three winning pairs.

"To all the other competitors, thank you for competing in our competition. We wish to see you all back again next year to try your best," the announcer stated over his microphone, signaling the end of the competition and that everyone who was not a winner to leave the dance floor.

Shinoda, Kawamura's current partner, wore an odd dress with cut outs on the side, long sleeves and a U shaped neck line. The skirt was a little longer than mid-thigh length, flowing and longer in the back. The fabric of the dress was an odd pattern of what looked like waves. The colors of the pattern were a purple, navy blue, and a cyan blue with white dots on it all over. Her black hair was curled and some strands were held back by pins with white dots on them to match the dress. Light pink, cyan blue and purple were painted around her light brown eyes to complete her whole look. It was an odd dress, but she was able to pull it off. (Dress Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance%20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG1393 .jpg ; Eye Make Up Link that I do not own: http:/ browse .deviant art .com/ traditional/ bodyart/ ?qh = & section =& q = purple + blue / d39vuaf ; Hairstyle that I do not own: http:/ www .zimbio .com/ Formal + Hairstyles/ articles/ 17/ Formal + Updos + for + Any + Occasion [last picture on the page] )

Kobayashi, a beautiful woman, wore a dress that barely covered her chest. Not that anything was hanging out, her boobs were covered perfectly, but everything else, not so much. Her back was completely open, no cloth aside from the straps holding the top pieces on her body. It was mostly black with silver rhinestones sewn on it. The neck piece was black and had a lot of silver rhinestones sewn on it. The left side of the top looked like half of a bra, with gold and silver rhinestones sewn on to look like a sun. The right side was a long black piece of fabric, that connected to the neck piece, with the silver rhinestones sewn sparsely up top, and gathering down at the end where the piece was sewn onto the skirt, to look like the night sky filled with stars. The band of the skirt was black with gold and silver rhinestones sewn on to look like fireworks. The rest of the skirt was yellow, asymmetrical in shape, with black hem lining. Black fabric with silver rhinestones also ran down her arms as another part of her ensemble. Her dark brown hair had a patch of blonde in it on top that was proudly shown in her hair style, which was simply her hair pulled back into a ponytail, light curls, and fake diamond flower decorated bobby pins. Her eyes were painted yellow with black accents to match her black and yellow theme, showing off her beautifully golden brown eyes. (Dress Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance%20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = Dance-Costume-16 .jpg ; Eye make Up I do not own: http:/ browse .deviant art .com/ traditional/ bodyart/ ?q = black yellow & order = 9 & offset = 168 / d378h3a ; Hairstyle I do not own: http:/ www .zimbio .com/ Formal + Hairstyles/ articles/ 17/ Formal + Updos + for + Any + Occasion [Sixth picture on the page] )

Sayo was in a beautiful black and white dress. It was a halter with no sleeves. The top of the dress had two white fabric pieces sewn on like they were pulled upward and attached to the black body of the dress with white fabric flower appliqué and black vine appliqué that were kind of hard to see. Some bits of the top were a fabric that was skin colored to make it look like she had nothing there. The actual skirt of the dress was a zebra print fabric that fell in a handkerchief hem line, with draping black fabric around the backside. There were more white flower fabric appliqués on the back top of the dress, which left the back open. On each wrist were three white fabric made bangles. She wore white dancing heels to match the dress. Her eyes were painted with sparkling zebra print, which took hours to do. And her hair was in a beautiful half updo that left her bangs to hang in her face beautifully. (Dress Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance%20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG1476 .jpg ; Eye Make Up Link that I do not own: http:/ browse .deviant art .com/ traditional/ bodyart/ ?q= my work ZEBRA / d30wfrv ; Hairstyle that I found on Google: http:/ www .hairs-style .com/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2011/ 02/ quick-updos1 .jpg )

"You all did very wonderful jobs in this competition tonight," the senior judge commented, shaking everyone's hands.

"Yes, quite wonderful indeed," agreed the younger male judge. He nodded his head as he shook everyone's hands as well.

"You especially, Tsukioka-san, for being a newcomer and placing second," the female judge agreed with the others as she shook Sayo's hand.

"Oh, thank you very much," Sayo bowed her head with a small smile at the comment.

"I hear that Yoshida-san is the one who trained you," the younger male judge commented as he shook Sayo's hand after the female judge.

"Ah, yes, Yoshida-kun has been training me diligently for the past couple months now," Sayo answered the curiosity with a smile.

"Well, Yoshida, you've been doing a very good job," the senior judge commented as he shook Yoshida's hand.

"Ah, thank you sir," Yoshida smiled. "I do have to add in, however, Tsukioka-chan's natural talent."

"Yes, that would have to come into account somewhere I suppose," the senior judge nodded as he shook Sayo's hand.

Sayo only smiled at the senior judge after she and Yoshida moved on. They later received their prizes and all the contestants left for home. Sayo and Yoshida headed out to a restaurant for a celebratory dinner. He intended to treat her to any place of her choosing. They headed out without changing clothes in case she wanted to go somewhere fancy. Although, it turned out she hadn't really wanted to go into a fancy restaurant in her dress. So, instead they went to a semi-fancy restaurant that she was comfortable with. They had a good time, talking about almost anything except for her friends, and going to America. After dinner, Yoshida made sure that Sayo got home safely by venturing on the taxi ride to her home and paying for it since she was only stop number one. His taxi drove off ass soon as he saw her enter the house.

* * *

The next day, Saya found herself calling Hayato. For what reason, she was unsure of herself, but she was doing it. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello?" he answered, sounding a bit preoccupied. Kitchen noises could be heard in the background as some pots hit the stove top a bit harder than it should have.

"Hey," she smiled into the phone, for no reason, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, Saya-chan, hey," Hayato replied, still preoccupied, probably with not burning himself or something. "What's up?"

"Oh not much," Saya answered truthfully. She had nothing planned for today since she was off work and had no classes for the day. "I'm a bit bored to be honest."

"Oh? Why are you bored?" Hayato asked, the sound of running water could now be heard in the background.

"Because I have nothing to do today, literally," Saya answered, a bit of irony sounding out in her voice.

"Really? No classes?" Hayato sounded a bit surprised, now pouring the water into a pot or pan of some sort, she could hear it sizzling as it hit the heat.

"Yeah, no work either," she scoffed. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm just trying to make myself some breakfast," Hayato answered, the sizzling water cooling down. He had added something to it. "Ryu's already at class."

"Hmm," Saya nodded her head, even though he couldn't see her. "you have work today?"

"Yeah, got the night shift again…" he didn't seem to be too thrilled about the night shift. She could hear him shuffling something in the background. Probably some kind of noodle or rice.

"Well, I was thinking…" Saya paused, trying to figure out how to word this without sounding completely nervous and stupid. "Maybe we could go out to eat today or something…"

"…" Hayato didn't say anything, which worried Saya a bit. Maybe he didn't really want to and was just unintentionally sending out vibes by accident. Then she heard what sounded like a box crashing onto the floor and something spilling out of it. "Ah!"

Saya covered her mouth so she didn't laugh directly at him, chuckling the whole time. She heard him curse at himself lightly for not paying attention and picking up whatever it was he had spilt all over the floor of his and Ryu's apartment.

"Man, if he finds out this happened…" he muttered bitterly. Saya figured Ryu was the kind of roommate that was kind of strict when it came to cleanliness and money.

"Um…" Saya scratched her chin with her finger for a few seconds, waiting for his reply to her invite.

"Oh, sorry," Hayato answered, the sound of his voice fading and returning quickly, along with sounds of rapid finger movement on the phone. "Almost dropped the phone…"

Saya had to stop herself from laughing at him again. She was quite glad she was a patient person.

"Um, I…" Hayato sounded like he was in the middle of thinking about his answer seriously while cleaning up his mess. He kept grunting the whole time. "Oh, screw making breakfast, let's go have something now."

"What?" Saya blinked. That wasn't what she expected to come out of his mouth. Wasn't he cooking something right this second?

"All I'm succeeding in doing is burning water and making a mess, so let's just go have breakfast somewhere together," Hayato spoke as if he was reading her mind, even though Saya knew that was impossible.

"But, where should we go?" she asked, too shocked to respond any other way.

"I don't know, you should pick," Hayato replied, sounding a tad bit preoccupied. She couldn't blame him, he had made a mess he needed to clean up. "I'll be a little bit though, spilled quite a bit…"

"That's okay, we can go have brunch or something," Saya shook her head and smiled. "Call me when you're done cleaning, we can decide where then."

"Alright, it's a date," Hayato spoke without thinking.

"Um," Saya blinked in surprise and her face lit up red. "Okay…"

"See you in a bit," Hayato finished and hung up the phone.

"Yeah, a date…" Saya breathed as she lowered the phone slowly from her ear, hitting the end button on her own phone. She couldn't believe he had just said that!

* * *

Ryu felt a quick pinch of pain in his neck as he sat in class, and rolled his neck in an attempt to ease it. Something similar to this had happened once to him and Hayato when they were still in school, just after Yamaguchi had gotten there. They had felt chills run up heir spines. At that moment, he felt like something bad might happen to them later. This time felt somewhat the same, except he felt that he was going to have to hurt someone because he did a stupid thing. He'd just have to wait and see when he returned home that night after work.

Everyday during classes, he always had to ignore the lustful stares he got from the girls in his classes that took interest in him because of the way he looked. He felt their eyes on his back as one would a knife. It was quite annoying to him that they would act so childish at this age. Then again, he had to admit that his roommate was quite childish himself at times.

"He's always so handsome," he heard one of the girls sigh in the back, talking to the other girls she was with. He didn't have to turn around to know they were all together and whispering about him.

"Yeah, his hair is so perfect," another one swooned, a dreamy air to her voice. Ryu shivered a little. Hearing someone talk about your hair like that is a little bit creepy.

"I wonder what he looks like without his shirt on," yet another girl whispered to the others, a hint of mischief to her voice. Ryu's eye twitched a couple times.

"Oh, that's a wonderful picture," the other girls chuckled, imagining Ryu without his shirt on. Ryu forbade himself to turn around to see the looks on their faces. He knew it would probably give him nightmares.

Trying his hardest to ignore their talk and listen to the professor, Ryu focused all of his energy on taking notes about the lecture. He was glad that he had found relief from disturbing or unwanted thoughts by studying. Even if the method withdrew him from the world around him, it relieved him of going insane. And he really didn't want to go insane. Not this early in his life, anyway.

The professor wrapped up his lecture and the class was over. Ryu always tried to be the first one out the door to avoid confrontation with the admiring girls of his classes. He was not so fortunate this time around. When the lecture ended, all of Ryu's belongings were still out on the desk in front of him. Realizing this a little too late, he hurriedly put his things in his bag, hoping the girls wouldn't approach him. If they didn't approach him, that meant that they knew he wouldn't go out with them. If they did, it meant they thought any one of them had a chance of him saying yes to them. If the latter were to happen, he would just have to crush the girls' dreams. Let's face it, there was no way in hell that Ryu was going to date a girl who admired him from afar and imagined him shirtless in a public place while, more than likely, making disturbing facial expressions.

Ryu was not so fortunate. These girls apparently had this thought in their head that he would in fact love to date one of them. The whole pack of them quickly moved to surround him just as he got his pen safely into his bag. He looked up and saw them obstructing his escape route. Damn it all to hell.

"Hi Odagiri-san," they all greeted in their own flirtatious way. Ryu said nothing back. He only nodded in reply, since it was only the polite thing to do. And he didn't really want to cause a scene.

"Are you busy today?" one of them asked, he didn't care to decipher which of them had spoken. They all seemed highly interested in his plans for the day.

"Yes," he answered simply. If they held him up too long, he would be late for work. He had to make this as quick as possible.

"Aw, that's no good," the girls all pouted. That made Ryu want to gag. "What about tomorrow?"

"Busy," Ryu simply answered again, standing from his seat. None of the girls moved.

"You always seem to be studying," another of the girls observed, giving him a sense of déjà vu. "Don't you ever go out and have some fun?"

"Yeah, like, say, with some girls," another tried to be sly and drop hints, which were painfully obvious.

"I do go out and have fun," Ryu answered, attempting to push his way through them to escape. "With my friends when we have time."

"Oh, from high school?" another girl smiled, almost completely mocking innocence.

Ryu turned his head back toward her with no amusement whatsoever. "Yes, from high school." And he made his way swiftly out the door before they could continue talking.

"I wonder if any of those friends of his are girls…" one of them wondered out loud after he had left. None of the other girls had thought of that before this mentioning. The girls all continued to their next destination while contemplating this possibility.

* * *

Takeshi opened his apartment door to see his younger cousin standing at his doorstep, a puzzled expression on her face as she stared at the floor. He blinked a few times before she raised her head to look at him. She seemed so serious.

"Sayo-chan, what's wrong?" he asked, motioning for her to enter the apartment.

"…" Sayo shook her head in silence, letting herself in. She was trying to find the right way to say what she wanted to say. It wasn't easy to put this kind of thing into words. Think about it. Telling a loved one that you may be leaving the country wasn't easy at all, for anyone.

Sayo made her way to the sofa and plopped down on it, leaning her head back, eyes closed, with a heavy sigh. Takeshi had followed her and stood adjacent to her in front of the sofa. He turned off the television. "Come on, that sigh doesn't tell me that nothing is wrong."

"It's not that it's wrong…" Sayo replied lowly, still trying to find the right words.

"Then what is it?" he asked, sitting next to her, waiting for her to speak. It took her a few minutes.

"I don't really know how to tell you…" Sayo frowned, knowing that this was just leading him in circles.

"Just tell me then, I don't care how," Takeshi persisted. He just wanted to know if he could help her through whatever it was. And if it were guy related, and the guy had hurt her, he'd pay dearly.

"…" Sayo bit her lower lip, taking in a deep breath. "Yoshida asked me to go to America with him…" she waited to hear his response. Something of either protest or encouragement.

"Wow, he did, huh?" Takeshi nodded his head, finally understanding why she was so puzzled on how to say it. "Did you answer him yet?"

"No," Sayo answered with a worried expression. She really wasn't sure if she wanted to go or not. It was confusing.

"Do you want to go?" Takeshi asked, watching her carefully.

"I think it would be fun to go and see America," Sayo answered, sounding a bit conflicted.

"But?"

"But I don't know how long we're going to be gone for, nor if I can come back for holidays and what not…" Sayo explained, finally looking Takeshi in the face.

"I'm sure he'll let you," Takeshi reassured her. "When would you two be leaving?"

"At the end of December, after Christmas," Sayo answered, closing her eyes and sighing again.

"You're always sighing every time I see you it seems," Takeshi had brought up this topic with her once before, way back when she had first just gotten to know the guys. Sayo quickly realized where this little observation was going to lead up to.

"Really?" she looked away, trying to feign innocence. Not that it was going to work against him, but she was going to try.

"Yeah," he deadpanned, not letting her get away with it this time. "is it that guy?"

"…" Sayo's face hardened. He had hit the jackpot. Right on target. How did Takeshi know she was thinking about someone?

"It is," Takeshi was sure after seeing her reaction. "Is that also why you don't know if you want to leave or not?"

Why was it that others could see straight through her act, even when she feels that it's completely flawless? Sayo looked down at her lap quickly and turned away from Takeshi.

"I'll take that as a yes…" Takeshi sighed, knowing that, with her, this was always a tough subject.

"I don't know why," she started, sounding as if she was about to cry, "but he's always there, in my mind."

Takeshi didn't say anything. He only let her think about the words and waited for her to expel them from her mouth.

"Every memory I have that involves him is brought to the surface of my mind, no matter what I'm doing," Sayo continued, tears slowly forming at the corners of her eyes. "It's so frustrating, because it seems that all I can ever think about is him, when I need to be concentrating on other things."

With this new information, Takeshi was shocked. He had no idea she was so taken by this guy she had only known for a few months time. And it seemed to him that she didn't even realize, or she just didn't want to realize, just how much she loved this guy. Seeing her tears roll down her cheek, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a pack of tissues, and offered her one. She sniffled and accepted it without a word, patting her face gingerly with the soft cloth.

"I don't know how to make it stop," Sayo was trying not to cry anymore. "I don't want to be overcome with the memories while I'm working, it's not a pretty sight."

"Sayo-chan," Takeshi sighed, feeling a little bit sorry for his sweet cousin.

"I'm sorry I had to burden you with my feelings, Takeshi-kun," Sayo sniffled again, trying to regain herself in some way. "I didn't plan on talking about this today…"

"It's okay," Takeshi shook his head, knowing this stuff was hard to deal with at times.

"What do you think I should do?" Sayo turned to Takeshi, her eyes a bit red and cheeks tearstained. There was glimpse of hope in her eyes. Hope that he'd have an answer, or some kind of advice for her.

"I think that it's a great opportunity," Takeshi told her. "It would be great for you to get out there and see the world."

"Hm…" Sayo nodded her head. Saya had said the same thing. Great opportunity.

"It may even give you a chance to experience new things that might not bring up those memories," Takeshi bargained with her. He wanted her to go and experience the world for herself. She'd have a lot of fun going to America, he knew it.

"You're right," Sayo hadn't thought of it like that.

"Did you participate in a competition yet?" Takeshi asked, trying to get off a hard subject and onto a lighter one.

"Yeah, we did last week," Sayo seemed to perk up a little at the change. "We placed second, and the judges looked forward to seeing me in the future."

"That's good," Takeshi smiled. She was doing very well with her dancing career. No one had really seen that coming, in all honesty. Sure, the girl loved dancing, but being a professional ballroom dancer was a lot different from dancing out on the streets for fun.

"Yeah, Yoshida-kun has really high hopes for me," Sayo smiled at that.

The two cousins talked for a little while longer before Sayo had to go. They were preparing for another competition in a month or so. They had to work their hardest to get first place. That would be remarkable, but Sayo was pretty sure they were only going to get second place again. She thanked Takeshi for the advice and made off to the studio. This way she was one step closer to making her decision about going to America or not. She still wanted to ask two more people before she decided. Those two people were her parents. And who knew how they were going to react to this one.


	22. Chapter 16

_**A/N: A new chapter, just as most of you wished. Sorry for the shortness of it, they've been coming out small for some reason. I guess I'm getting impatient about writing the good stuff, and tired of writing fillers, not knowing what to put in. Oh well, this is a good one, so I hope you guys like it! BTW, italics in this chapter means thoughts.**_

* * *

**Chapter 16: To Go, Or Not To Go?**

As Sayo sat on the couch, she felt a sense of déjà vu. '_Why am I here?' _she thought. She looked around, seeing him in the kitchenette heating water for ramen. Seeing the clock, she had to do a double take. _'Is that really the time?' _she thought again, more confused by the second. She looked down at her bare legs and his t-shirt that covered her torso. _'Wait a second… this shirt is-' _her thoughts were interrupted by the kettle yelling. Suddenly, she felt tired, and as if acting involuntarily, she spread herself out on the couch to get comfortable.

Her world went dark as she drifted to sleep.

* * *

Ryu felt strange, as if he'd done this before. After pouring the water into his cup of instant ramen and letting it sit, he went into his room and pulled the covers back so he could place Sayo under them. He'd noticed her fall asleep a minute ago, and figured he'd put her in the bed so she didn't catch cold. After placing her in the bed and covering her back up, he stood watching her for a few seconds. Sighing, he returned to the living room and ate his ramen. _'This is just a bit weird…' _he thought to himself as he watched whatever was on the television. He seemed to be moving at high speed, because he was done with his ramen and already in the shower. After he got out, he knew he should put on a t-shirt and a pair of pants to sleep in, but instead he only had on his pants. _'Ok, now what?' _he thought, a bit irritated. It seemed that he couldn't control his body. Almost as if he were watching an episode of his life.

Seemingly from the air, he watched as he climbed into the bed next to Sayo and fell asleep.

* * *

Ryu woke up, no loud knock on the door. The view he had and the only noises he heard, were of Sayo breathing steadily and her sleeping face. _'This didn't happen before…' _he thought, knowing which event in his life he was thinking of and reliving. Curiously, he reached out his hand slowly to touch her cheek, see if it was real. His skin touched her cheek and she didn't flinch. She must've still been in a deep sleep. Sitting up lightly, so he didn't disturb her, he looked down at his calendar on his night stand. He was right. The date that was last crossed out was the day of their graduation. _'What the hell is going on?' _he thought. He felt like any second now there would be a loud knock on his front door from Hayato, looking for Sayo with Saya accompanying him.

Sayo suddenly stirred next to him. His eyes shot down to her. _'Oh crap…'_

* * *

Sayo's eyes fluttered open and she yawned, stretching her arms up into the air above her head. Bringing her arms down she turned her head to her right and saw Ryu sitting up in the bed next to her. She smiled, feeling happy since she had just woken up from a nice sleep. "Morning," she mumbled to him.

"Morning," he replied, his normal tone filling her ears.

As she kept looking at him, she realized he wa shirtless. A blush began to creep across her face as she felt a wave of perversion wash over her. Quickly she turned her head to the walls in order to avert her eyes from his bare chest. Then she remembered that she only had on one of his t-shirts and the blush grew brighter. _'Why is he in the bed!'_ she yelled in her head.

* * *

Ryu stood from the bed and entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He stared at himself in the mirror. Images of him carrying Sayo into the bed flashed before his eyes. Then, more. Images of her singing, of her dancing, her in a kimono, her sitting in the moonlight. He looked down at his hands, still feeling her skin on his fingers from carrying her. This time he hadn't told her to put on the pants, so she wasn't completely covered. More images flashed of her asleep on the subway, and her smiling outside of her home late at night. The last few images confused him. Why would he know that those two events happened if they happened after he graduated?

Suddenly, he realized that he was dreaming.

* * *

Sayo was patting her cheeks, trying to fight off the blush that had overtaken her face so quickly after one stare at his bare chest. She stopped patting her cheeks and shook her head harshly. Sighing, she leaned across the bed to see the time. It was about 8 in the morning. Noticing the calendar, she decided to take a peek, see if he wrote anything on it. She was confused when she saw the date that was last crossed out was their graduation day. _'It couldn't be…' _she thought, confused by the calendar. Returning to an upright position on the bed, she realized why the t-shirt had looked so familiar. However, she knew something wasn't right, since she wasn't wearing his sweat pants he had told her to put on, and he had slept in the bed with her. _'This isn't how it happened…'_

She looked up, hearing the bathroom door open, and Ryu walked straight back to the bed. Sayo watched him curiously.

* * *

Ryu once again felt like he had no control over his body as it got back into the bed next to Sayo. He felt like he was watching a scene from a movie that the two of them were acting in now. It was no longer an event from his life. Sayo looked a bit curious and wary of his body, and almost seemed like she was afraid to look at him. He wanted to tell her that he had no control, but his words would never reach her, he knew that. This was some kind of dream that he was watching. Even though he knew it was a dream, he did not awaken from his slumber. _'Something is odd…'_

* * *

Sayo felt extremely nervous with him sitting there next to her. She didn't want to reveal a blush to him, so she kept her gaze down. She dared not let her eyes linger on him for too long, or she would succumb to her inner perversions. She wished for that not to happen. Gathering all her strength, she turned to him and looked at his face, not allowing her eyes to travel below his neck. "So, Ryu-kun," she started timidly, finding it quite hard to keep her eyes up and not down. "did you sleep well?" she smiled with her eyes closed.

He turned his head toward her, and nodded his head. "Yeah, you?"

"Mm," she nodded her head, eyes still closed.

* * *

Even though he was not in control of his body, he could still feel the sensation of her skin on his hands once again, like he had in the bathroom. Without his actual conscience there to control his body, Ryu's instincts took over his body. He watched as his arms reached over to her shoulders and pulled her close to his own body in an embrace. She made a small noise that sounded like a mouse, as her eyes shot open, her face turned a dark shade of red, and her body pressed against his underneath his t-shirt that covered her. He couldn't stop himself from blushing, feeling the contact his body felt. She had not been wearing a bra.

* * *

Sayo felt herself blush. She knew she couldn't stop herself this time. _'What is he thinking!' _she yelled in her head once again, completely frazzled by his advance. She felt his hands rubbing her arms. She tried to calm herself, but it was to no avail. He moved his hands slowly, almost romantically. God, she had not needed this right now. She was supposed to be trying to figure out if she wanted to leave Japan, not get suckered in by romance. Surprisingly to her, he moved one of his hands to her back and rubbed up and down soothingly. She sighed heavily, unable to stop him. _'You want this, don't deny it,' _a part of her argued with a devilish smirk. _'No! You should not commit this act so soon,' _the other half of her said.

* * *

Ryu watched his body advance on her, feeling a bit outraged. He wouldn't do that to her. She had to know that. He looked away for a minute or so, feeling something he had never felt before. He couldn't name it, but he knew the reason he felt it. He didn't have the guts to actually make a move to show her how he felt. He had let so many opportunities to tell her, or at least show her, and he fell short each time. When he returned his eyes to the scene, he was shocked once again.

* * *

Ryu had pushed her back as she stared up at his face, her own so red. She had a feeling in her stomach as to what was coming next. Her suspicions were confirmed when he lifted her chin up with his hand and stared deeply into her eyes. She felt herself turn into mush, knowing what was next.

'_He's going to kiss me…'_

* * *

Suddenly Ryu found himself in his body again, but still not in control. He was staring at her, closing the space between them. She was closing her eyes, knowing what was coming. As he got closer, he closed his eyes as well. Just as he was about to make contact with her lips, his eyes snapped open.

He saw his bedroom walls and was breathing hard. "It was just a dream…."

* * *

Sayo closed her eyes, knowing what was coming. She felt his breath on her lips and swallowed hard. She was nervous. However, just as he was about to make contact, her eyes snapped open.

She stared at her ceiling and breathed heavily. "Just a dream…"

* * *

"Ahh mou!" Kiri moaned, sitting at the table in her and Saya's dorm room, attempting to complete her homework for her math class.

"What now?" Saya asked from the kitchen, fixing herself something for breakfast.

"I hate math!" Kiri complained childishly, balling her fist and shaking it at her homework.

"That's due today, right?" Saya inquired, a smirk on her face.

"Yeah…" Kiri answered bitterly.

"You should've done it earlier, then you wouldn't have to be rushing it before class," Saya told her roommate, entering the living room where Kiri sat with her rice ball.

"Oh, shut up and help me, will you?" Kiri whined, knowing Saya was right.

"Oh, all right, I'll help just this once," Saya sat down next to Kiri with her rice ball and helped her out.

* * *

Sayo made her way downstairs to the kitchen where she knew she would be able to find her parents. Luckily her father hadn't left for work yet, so she would be able to talk to both of them at the same time. As she entered, her mother turned her head.

"Good morning, Sa-chan, sleep well?" Mayumi greeted, standing in front of the stove while cooking omelets and making lunch for her husband.

"Kind of…" Sayo answered, opening the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"So, are you going to participate in another competition with Yoshida-san?" her father asked from behind his newspaper, coffee cup on the table in front of him.

Sayo turned to face her father. "Yes, in about a few weeks from now," she answered, taking a seat at the table with her father.

"Well, that's good," Mayumi smiled as she brought her husband breakfast. "I'm glad you've found something that makes you happy, Sa-chan."

"Thanks mom," Sayo smiled, watching her mother go back to making her father's lunch. "Um, I need to talk to you two…" she looked down at her lap knowing her tone would catch both their attention in a heart beat.

Yuto put down his newspaper and gazed at his daughter. Something was up. "What is it dear?"

Mayumi made her way back to the table and sat next to her husband. "Yes, Sa-chan, what is it you need to talk to us about?"

Sayo could hear the worry in her mother's voice. "Well, here's the thing," she started, moving her gaze from her lap to her parents. "I need your advice."

Her parents didn't say anything and waited patiently for her to continue.

"Yoshida-kun asked me if I would be willing to go to America with him to participate in competitions over there," Sayo informed them of the question she'd been asked a couple weeks ago. Her mother seemed shocked. Her father on the other hand, kept a straight, unreadable face, and let her finish. "But I don't know if I want to go…" she thought for a second, then rephrased. "If I should go or not…"

Mayumi was speechless. A man wanted to whisk her daughter away to America for a job. "Wow, I don't know what to say…"

"Are you asking for our advice?" her father asked, his face still unreadable. He always got so protective when it came to her and guys. She didn't know why. She thought that perhaps it was because she was his little girl.

"Yes, I want to know if you think I should go or not," Sayo nodded her head, answering in a serious tone.

"I think you should try it," her father answered her. The answer was unexpected. Sayo was taken aback by her father's words. His face softened into a smile, "It would be good for you to explore the world."

Sayo blinked and turned to her mother. "What about you, mom?"

"Me?" Mayumi pointed at herself, still shocked by the question. "Well," she sighed to calm herself, and looked at her daughter with kind eyes. "I agree with your father."

"Really?" Sayo could hardly believe what she was hearing. Her parents were encouraging her to leave the country with a man. With a man! Was it possible that she was still dreaming?

"Yes, and I'm sure you'll have tons of fun while you're there," Mayumi smiled wide. "You'll meet lots of people too."

"Plus, we won't have wasted money on the English classes you took, either," her father added in jokingly, but Sayo knew it was no joke at all. She knew she was better off using the skill than just letting it go to waste by not using it.

"Thanks, really," Sayo smiled, appreciating her parents' advice. "I'll let you know if I'm going in a few hours, okay?"

"Alright Sa-chan," Mayumi nodded and stood up to go finish Yuto's lunch before he had to leave for work.

Sayo headed upstairs to sort out her own thoughts.

* * *

Hayato heard Ryu stumble out of bed. Startled and confused, he stared at his best friend's bedroom door, wondering if he was okay. The bathroom door creaked open and then slammed shut a second later. Hayato was startled by that, jumping back a little. He blinked with wide eyes, judging it was better to just leave him be for now. He turned back to the television and popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth.

Ryu stared hard at himself in the mirror. That dream was too weird, he couldn't shake it out of his head. If he had continued to dream and not have woken up, would he have really kissed her? He would probably never know. Would she let him kiss her if he ever tried it? She seemed like she would in the dream, but it could have been warped into his own wishes, as dreams tend to be. He would never sleep in the same bed with her, especially not shirtless, and especially when she was only wearing a large t-shirt. So he knew that part was a complete fable of his mind.

Just as in the dream, as he stood over the sink, images of his past involving her flashed through his head. It was almost like a slideshow of his life. He didn't like it. It made him feel like he was going to die. But he knew that wasn't possible. He did, however, thank God that she was unaware of his fantasies about her. About his dreams involving the two of them together. They seemed to be invading more often than not. He seriously needed to find a way to escape them for the time being. He splashed some water on his face and left the bathroom.

Hayato heard the bathroom door creak open again and wondered if Ryu would come out this time. Ryu did come out this time, walking heavily into the kitchen in search of coffee. Hayato peered at his best friend. He looked drained of energy, or plagued by something. He guessed that the answer was the latter, and that the culprit was Sayo. Ryu made his coffee and stood right in front of the machine to drink it. All of it in one go. Hayato was shocked by that. Ryu never drank all of his coffee in one go.

"Dude, you okay?" he asked, his shock evident in his voice.

Ryu turned his head slightly and peered at Hayato. Debating whether or not to tell him about the dream, knowing there would probably be unwanted discussion of said dream. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You are not fine when you scarf down a whole cup of coffee in one go, especially not you," Hayato sat up, speaking to his best friend seriously now.

Ryu glared at Hayato from the kitchen, still debating whether or not he should tell him about the dream. Coffee certainly wouldn't be solving his problem any time soon, that's for sure. Although, even though they didn't have any, alcohol sounded quite appealing to him at the moment.

"What's up?" Hayato persisted, turning down the volume on the television. "Bad dream or something?"

Ryu twitched. Why did that imbecile always know what was wrong! Did he have amazing guessing powers or something? There was no way he could read minds. Honestly, Ryu wanted to get it off his chest. He needed to tell someone about that weird dream he had. Especially since it involved Sayo. Sighing, Ryu turned away from the coffee pot and headed toward the couch. Hayato, seeing him coming, moved to make some room for him.

"Something tells me I hit the jackpot…" Hayato mumbled to himself after seeing Ryu's sigh.

"It wasn't necessarily a bad dream…" Ryu muttered in a reply to Hayato's curiosity regarding his mood.

"Oh? So it was a good dream?" Hayato smirked, the immediate first thought of his being dirty, and he received a hard scowl from Ryu.

While Ryu wanted to punch Hayato for thinking such a thing about his mind, he had to stop and admit to himself that there was some hint of sexual desires in that dream. He closed his eyes and turned his head away from Hayato.

"Wait, are you serious!" Hayato thought this meant he was correct in his dirty assumption. He wasn't so far off the mark, but it wasn't as bad as he was imagining.

Ryu furrowed his eyebrows, holding back his fist, and hating himself for staying quiet. But he just couldn't find the right words to describe the dream.

"You had a sexual dream? Was it with Sayo-chan?" Hayato was shocked that Ryu wasn't saying anything to stop him from speaking any further. Could he possibly be right?

"It wasn't exactly sexual, but she was there…" Ryu finally answered the questions that had been fired at him. It was a painful truth to admit to. He knew that even Hayato would have a hard time admitting that he was having sexual fantasies about a girl that he's not even dating.

"Oh," Hayato nodded his head in understanding, calming down a little. "So, what happened?"

"Well, it was almost like watching a scene of my life, only some things were a bit different…" Ryu tried to find the words to properly describe what the dream was like.

"Which scene?" Hayato prodded, trying to help Ryu find the words and get it off his chest.

"The night of graduation," Ryu answered, having a sinking feeling that something would click in Hayato's head. He waited to see Hayato's reaction.

"Oh, so what was different about it?" Hayato just seemed curious now. It was a little bit surprising to Ryu how calm Hayato was.

"Well, for some reason I hadn't told her to put on the sweat pants I had put out for her," Ryu answered, thinking hard to remember. While the dream was still vivid, parts of it were starting to slip away from him.

Hayato smirked. Ryu's perverted mind was showing in his dreams. That in itself was interesting. Who knew a girl would actually trigger his perversion? Not just any girl, but a certain girl. Although Hayato knew that another certain girl brought out the pervert in him quite easily, so he didn't say anything about it.

"Then I didn't put on a shirt to sleep in," Ryu continued, feeling his skin prickle just thinking about what happened next. And of course, the end of it too. "And instead of sleeping on the couch, I slept in the bed with her…"

Hayato's eyes widened at that. Ryu would never do that. He knew what the girl did to him, or at least Hayato thought he did. Who knew what really would have happened if those two had slept in the same bed so lightly clothed that night. Their relationship might have just escalated in a leap and bound with just one night.

"After waking up, I went to the bathroom," Ryu continued, closing his eyes to remember, as well as to ignore Hayato's reactions. "When I came back out she was awake."

Hayato stayed quiet, knowing Ryu was concentrating hard. The details of this dream told Hayato just how deep Ryu was in this mess. No wonder the guy needed to focus so hard on his studies everyday. That girl probably distracted him in every single extra second he had while doing nothing at all.

"For some reason, I got back in the bed," Ryu continued, eyes closed hard now, not wanting to relive the way he felt at the end of that dream.

Hayato watched, a bit confused as to why Ryu was squeezing his eyes shut. "Was it bad?"

"Well, I ended up embracing her and almost kissing her…" Ryu finished, opening his eyes just a sliver and staring at the carpeted floor of their apartment.

"Whoa…" Hayato knew that was a shock to Ryu. In reality, Hayato knew Ryu wanted the girl, but never showed it, nor said it out loud. Only in the safety of his mind would Ryu ever try to go farther with her. It was the best for their relationship.

"That's when I woke up," Ryu finished, sighing and leaning back into the sofa. At least it was comfy. He didn't feel like going anywhere today, but he knew he had work.

"Hmm," Hayato nodded his head, thinking of a way to help Ryu get the dream out of his mind, or at least to the back of it. "Hey, why don't we eat something?"

Ryu peered over at Hayato's puppy face. Sighing again, he knew he had no other choice than to agree or be dragged along by the collar of his shirt.

* * *

Saya sat on the couch watching television and eating senbei. She didn't have to be at work for another two hours. She felt she needed to relax, especially since Kiri was at class and she had spent all her free time this morning helping Kiri with her homework before the girl had to run off to class. Of course, she couldn't go through the day without relaxing, so she always made it a point to have some down time on her own.

Out of nowhere, her phone rang on the coffee table in front of her. Looking at it curiously, she grabbed it to read the caller id. It was Sayo. She flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Hey, Saya," Sayo's voice came through the speaker.

"What's up Sayo?" Saya asked, curious as to why her cousin was calling her in the middle of the day.

"I had a weird dream last night…" Sayo mumbled, not wanting to be too loud. Her parents were right down the hall getting ready to leave.

"How weird?" Saya asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"Like, I relived the night of graduation, you know, when he let me stay over at his new apartment?" Sayo started to explain in the best way she could.

"Yeah, what about it was weird?" Saya needed more information than just that to understand the level of weirdness the dream was at.

"Well, some things were different, like he didn't tell me to put the sweat pants on after I got out of the shower," Sayo named the first event that was different.

"Mmhm," Saya nodded her head, understanding that was a bit weird. Sayo had told her before that he had been so adamant about her wearing them in the first place.

"Then, instead of sleeping on the couch, he slept in the bed with me, with no shirt on," Sayo continued, sounding frazzled just by remembering the dream.

"Oh, well, yeah, that is weird…" Saya blinked, imagining how she would've reacted if that had really happened to them. If she and Hayato had found Ryu shirtless and Sayo only wearing her underwear and one of Ryu's t-shirts that morning. They would've interpreted the situation in the completely wrong way.

"And then, after we woke up, he pulled me into an embrace while we were sitting on the bed," Sayo sounded like she was completely embarrassed to talk about this. Yet she also sounded like she needed to get it off her chest. "And just before I woke up, he was about to kiss me…"

"Whoa, that's intense…" Saya felt herself blushing a little, for no apparent reason.

Sayo took a shaky breath. "I think I'm gonna go," Sayo told her cousin with determination.

"You mean America?" Saya asked for clarification. Such a sudden change of topic.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go, I've made up my mind," Sayo repeated herself.

"Do you want me to tell the girls?" Saya sat up on the couch, senbei crumbs falling off her stomach.

"Just the girls, not the guys," Sayo answered.

"Why not the guys?" Saya asked, curious as to why Sayo wouldn't want them to know. Weren't they all friends by now?

"Because they'll tell Ryu-kun, and I really don't want him to know," Sayo answered, hard voice hardening.

"Okay, then I'll be careful," Saya nodded her head, understanding where Sayo was coming from.

"Thanks," Sayo sighed. "I'm gonna go have something to eat, okay?"

"All right, I'll see you later, okay?" Saya smiled again, knowing how hungry Sayo could get.

"Yeah, later," Sayo hung up the phone.

Saya didn't say anything, just hung up the phone and leaned back on the couch. She felt a pit forming in her stomach. She knew this would not go as Sayo thought it might. Saya knew Sayo was using this trip to America as a way to run away from her feelings toward Ryu. Sayo would soon find out that it would not be so easy to forget all that has happened to them.

"She's really going…" Saya sighed to herself. How come life always got in the way of things?


	23. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: There's No Turning Back Now, The Decision Has Been Made**

"What do you mean, emergency meeting?" Mitsu questioned through the phone, Maki standing behind her looking curious.

"I'm telling you, we all have to meet today," Saya retorted through the phone. Mitsu held the device away from her ear and closed one eye.

"Geez, why you gotta be so loud?" Mitsu brought the phone back to her ear, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Just make sure you and Maki meet us there, okay?" Saya sighed, tired of fighting this battle.

"When?" Mitsu asked before the line went dead.

"In an hour," Saya answered. "Ja ne." The line went dead.

Mitsu snapped her cell phone shut and sighed heavily. At least they didn't have work or classes today, other wise they wouldn't be able to make it. "I wonder…"

"What was that all about?" Maki asked her roommate as she munched on a Hi-chew. Her curious eyes were locked on Mitsu. She wanted to know what was going on.

"Saya said we're having an 'emergency meeting'," Mitsu answered, complete with air quotes. "We have to meet Saya and Sayo at the park in an hour."

"Did she say why?" Maki asked, blinking her curious eyes. She sat down on the sofa and leaned back, still watching Mitsu.

"I wish she had, but she didn't," Mitsu joined Maki on the sofa with a flop and gently tossed her phone on the end table next to the sofa arm. "That makes me a bit worried, you know…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's good news," Maki smiled and chewed her green apple goodness.

Mitsu peered over at Maki and saw the Hi-chews in her hand. "Hey!" her face contorted in disbelief. "When did you get Hi-chews and not tell me about it!"

"Because, I knew you'd eat them all," Maki pouted, sticking her tongue out at Mitsu.

"I would not!" Mitsu countered, blushing from embarrassment. If given the chance, she would, in fact, eat every single piece without a second thought before anyone else got any.

"Liar!" Maki chuckled, seeing the redness on Mitsu's face. She pointed her finger as she continued to chuckle at Mitsu.

"Oh, shut up, will you?" Mitsu folded her arms over her chest, closed her eyes and turned away. Maki was beginning to laugh harder. Mitsu couldn't stand it, so she got up and went to her room. "I'm changing…" and she shut her door hard.

Maki put her hand over her mouth after Mitsu shut her door. She sighed with a smile on her face, swallowed what was left of her Hi-chew, and left the rest of them in the kitchen out in the open. Knowing she had other things to do today, she headed to her room and changed for the emergency meeting.

* * *

"Saya?" Juri answered her phone.

"Hey Juri, can you meet us at the park by the next hour?" Saya asked quickly, seeing the time was already flying by.

"Sure," Juri answered, not sure why Saya sounded so hurried.

"Thanks," Saya replied and hurriedly cut the line.

Juri blinked as the phone beeped in her ear. "I wonder what that was all about…" she mumbled to herself, flipping her phone shut and looking at the clock on the wall.

She didn't have too much time before she had to meet the girls at the park. She figured she'd get something to eat and then head there. Before her roommates could ask any questions about the call, Juri was already in her room changing clothes. She had actually slept in for a change.

"I wonder where she's going…" Fuyumi stared at Juri's door after watching the girl on the phone,

"Yeah," Mizuki agreed, nodding her head.

A few minutes later, Juri came back out of her room in a black t-shirt with a graphic of a robot on it, a pair of dark denim flare pants, and black peep-toe wedge heels with white ties on them. She was thinking of where she wanted to stop to get something to eat along the way. Feeling the eyes of her roommates on her, she stopped and looked at them. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = JuriPants2 .jpg )

"Are you heading out?" Mizuki asked, a curious look on her face.

"Yeah, I've got to meet with my friends at the park soon, so I'm going to get lunch on my way there," Juri explained, grabbing her purse and keys from by the door.

"Oh, well, have fun and be careful," Fuyumi smiled after her, waving.

"Thanks, I'm heading out now," Juri smiled back and left out the front door.

* * *

"Hey, Kiri, let's go, they'll be waiting for us if you don't hurry up!" Saya yelled through her and Kiri's dorm from the front door. She was putting on her shoes.

Kiri emerged from her bedroom clad in a pair of skinny jeans, a white t-shirt with a navy blue neckline and a graphic of a street car on it. She had her maroon high-top Converse in her hands, ready to put them on before they left the house. (Outfit link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = KiriPants-1 .jpg )

Saya stood in front of Kiri as she sat down to put on her shoes. Saya was in a loose boat neck purple shirt with elbow length wide sleeves and diagonal black block writing on the front. Somehow, she and Mitsu had the same pair of shorts, black mid-thigh length, rolled up at the bottom revealing gray leopard print. The shoes she had put on were a pair of black and white plaid patterned peep toe heels. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = SayaLeopardShorts .jpg )

A minute or so later, Kiri stood up with her shoes fastened tightly on her feet. "Ready."

"Then let's go," Saya turned on her heel and opened the front door, keys and cell phone in hand.

The two traveled side by side in silence for a few minutes, passing loads of people on their way to the park. Hopefully the other girls were on their way as well. Saya didn't want to be waiting on them for too long. After all, this was important. They all needed to know what was going on, even if it was decided on two weeks ago…

It was still August, so there were a few months that they had to keep it a secret for. Saya figured that once Sayo was on the plane, it didn't matter if the guys knew about it or not anymore. Saya was walking a bit without realizing it, deep in thought. It took Kiri tapping on her shoulder to get her attention. Saya blinked and almost stopped in her tracks, looking around curiously.

"Hey, you okay?" Kiri questioned her friend, a worried look on her face. "You were walking a bit fast…"

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking…" Saya smiled and they continued toward the park.

"Thinking pretty hard," Kiri chuckled, keeping up with her roommate. Sometimes Saya and Sayo had this mysterious air around them that no one else could understand. And only the two of them could ever seem to understand what the other was thinking. Kiri guessed it was a family thing.

"Yeah," Saya chuckled, only able to guess how bad it was, basing her guess on her experiences with Sayo.

"So, what's this emergency meeting about anyway?" Kiri asked. It seemed that the only ones who knew what the meeting was about were Saya and Sayo. Not even Kiri knew, and she was Saya's roommate.

"You'll see," Saya answered, a smirk slipping onto her face.

"But I don't like surprises," Kiri pouted, puffing out one of her cheeks like a child.

"Well, you'll just have to deal with it," Saya ended it, seeing they were at the park already.

* * *

Mitsu and Maki walked through the park, making their way toward Tetsu and Minoru's takoyaki stand. There were a bit more people there than estimated today. However, they weren't turning any heads today. No, they chose to dress extremely casually for once. Besides, most of the people there were high school kids on dates. They didn't want to take away the attention of the girls' boyfriends. That would just be cruel.

Maki wore a pale pink Racerback t-shirt that was a bit sheer, so she had on a dark undershirt. Black cropped jeans covered her legs and a pair of strap black heels were on her feet. It was something she could throw on quickly, so that was what she chose to wear. It wasn't like she was going to work after this or anything. Why not dress down every once in a while? (Shirt Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = MakiShirtwCroppedPants .jpg , Pants Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = MakiCroppedPants .jpg )

Mitsu, on the other hand, chose to cover herself today. A light blue button up shirt with long sleeves rolled up to her elbows covered her torso. Dark blue boot cut jeans covered her legs and let her white Converse peep out. She almost looked as if she were going to a job interview, but the get up was a bit too informal for that sort of thing. She genuinely looked like a college student for a change. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. Photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = MitsuPants .jpg )

The two girls approached the takoyaki stand. To their surprise, Juri was sitting on the bench in front of it eating a box of fresh takoyaki. "Juri!"

Said girl turned her head, mouth full of takoyaki, and a curious expression on her face. Juri was holding the box of uneaten takoyaki in her left hand and had her toothpick in her right hand, in mid air. Seeing Mitsu and Maki, she smiled and chewed quickly. After swallowing, "Mitsu-chan, Maki-chan, it's been a while."

The two girls chuckled and made their way to sit next to Juri. Just as they sat down, Kiri and Saya rounded the corner and came into eye sight. "Do either of you know what this is about?" Juri questioned lowly before Saya came into ear shot. Mitsu and Maki simply shook their heads as an answer to her question.

"Hey, you made it here before us," Kiri pointed at the three sitting on the bench.

"They've only been here a few minutes," Tetsu explained before any of the other girls could answer.

"Hey Tetsu-san, Minoru-san," Saya greeted kindly to the two members of the Oedo group. The two only bowed their heads a bit, acknowledging the girl's greeting. They were busy working, she would disturb them no more.

"So, where's Sayo?" Mitsu asked, standing from the bench and placing her hands on her hips.

Saya took out her phone and flipped it open. There was a new message from Sayo. Reading it, the answer to Maki's question was there. "She'll be here in a few minutes."

* * *

Hayato sat around the apartment that afternoon, feeling like he was missing out on something. Something important. However, nothing seemed to come to mind. He was flipping through the channels on the TV, but wasn't really paying attention to what was on. His mind was elsewhere. He was trying to pinpoint just how he felt about Saya. In order to do this, he had to recall every single time they had been alone together. As he remembered each instant, he tried to relive how he felt at the time. The last time they had been together was a couple weeks ago. They had gone out to eat together and talked about all kinds of things.

One thing he remembered feeling at that time was happiness. Joy. And, of course, he got angry at the waitress when she ignored Saya. Hayato knew that he was attracted to her, ever since she introduced herself before Valentine's day. As to his feelings now, he wasn't quite sure. They fought a lot, but that was only because he teased her a lot… Not that he meant to tease her to the point where she got mad, she just made him feel like it was right. There had been some times where she had teased him back too. That time at the karaoke place was a prime example of his tendency to tease her until she got mad.

Man, figuring out your feelings was hard. No wonder Ryu tried to escape it all the time. Hayato stood from the couch and headed toward the kitchenette for a bottle of water. A sigh escaped his lips before he even realized it. After retrieving his bottle, he retreated back to the couch and continued to flip through the channels absently. Ryu just happened to be in his bedroom, studying again. At least, Hayato thought he was studying again. Who knew just what exactly Ryu was doing in there. Hayato would rather not know and keep his nose out of it. After all, it wasn't his business to meddle in.

* * *

Sayo strolled through the park casually, knowing exactly where the girls would be waiting for her. She planned on telling them about Yoshida's offer. And that she was going to accept it. She was still unsure about telling them about it. After all, Kiri, Mitsu and Maki all were the girlfriends of Take, Tsuchi and Hyuga. Although, Hyuga already knew and had sworn not to tell the other guys about it, Kiri and Maki might let it slip to Tsuchi or Take. And who knew? If Take knew, he just might let it slip to Ryu without thinking about it. Or Tsuchi might even do the same.

Taking in a deep breath, Sayo rounded the corner that led to Tetsu and Minoru's takoyaki stand. The clacking of her heels on the pavement caused everyone's eyes to fall on her. The others were amazed at how much alike Saya and Sayo thought. Even Saya was a bit surprised by what her cousin was wearing.

Sayo looked stylish in her purple tank top with black lace on the hem of the neck and arms. Her shorts and heels were exactly identical to Saya's. Black, mid-thigh length, rolled up showing gray leopard print on the inside. Black and white plaid peep toe heels. Almost the same exact outfit. The only difference being their shirts. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = SayoLeopardShorts .jpg )

"You finally made it," Saya smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Did you two collaborate this morning or something?" Mitsu looked at Sayo incredulously. There was no way she would believe that they hadn't asked about what they each were going to wear today…

"Yeah, 'cause there's no way that this happened by chance…" Kiri agreed, nodding her head. She had slept in this morning, so she didn't know if Saya had talked to Sayo this morning or not.

Maki and Juri just sat together and watched the girls squabble. It had been a while since they'd last had the chance to squabble together like this. It was a nice change of pace for them. Juri continued to eat her takoyaki as she watched, like it was popcorn and she was at a movie. Tetsu busied himself in cooking the takoyaki, while Minoru half watched the girls and half prepared the takoyaki for cooking.

"Honestly, we didn't really talk about clothes this morning…" Sayo answered thoughtfully, a finger on her lip and eyes up toward the sky. A look of innocence passed by.

"Lies, I say," Mitsu pointed her finger playfully, struggling to hide her smile from them.

"Yeah, yeah," Saya waved her hand at Mitsu, cutting off the playful conversation. "We've got important things to talk about here."

Instantly Sayo got quiet and her face was painted with a serious expression. The girls all settled down. Kiri and Mitsu squeezed themselves back onto the bench where Maki and Juri were already sitting. The four stared expectantly at Saya and Sayo as Sayo moved to her cousin's side. Saya looked as if she were slightly depressed. An eerie feeling flooded the girls. Was it bad news?

* * *

Ryu sat in his bedroom, nose stuck in a book, lounging on his bed nonchalantly. He found himself trying to escape the images in his mind by reading something to keep himself occupied. He kept his door shut in order to block whatever noise Hayato was going to make. Who knew what that guy was watching on TV right now. Ryu wished not to find out.

As he flipped to the next page, he found himself stopping short. A sharp pain in his chest caused him to wince. Confused by the sudden, mysterious pain, he removed his attention from the book to his chest. Blinking, he closed the book, holding his place with his finger, and with his free hand he rubbed the spot. It was right by his heart. Furrowing his eyebrows, he felt a pit forming in his gut. Perhaps he was just being superstitious, but he couldn't shake the feeling washing over him. The feeling that something undesirable was going to happen soon. He didn't like it the least bit.

* * *

Sayo stood, staring at her feet, not wishing to see the girls' faces as she broke the news to them. Surely they would be sad, perhaps some even mad, that she was leaving the country. Her only rebuttal was that it wasn't a permanent option. She would be coming back, possibly more than once in a year, but she would be coming back nevertheless. Still, having to tell them made her heart sink a little. Knowing that the other guys might be mad at her for not telling them made her heart sink even more. And just imagining how Ryu would react, she didn't even want to think about it. Sighing heavily, she moved her sight to the girls in front of her.

"What is it Sayo?" Maki asked before Sayo could begin.

"Uh…" Sayo found herself having a hard time finding the right words to start this dreadful conversation.

Saya looked over at Sayo with worried eyes. "You okay?"

Sayo nodded her head. "Listen," she started, taking in another breath. The girls waited patiently for her to continue speaking. "What I'm about to tell you, you can't breathe a word to the guys, understand?"

They all nodded. Mitsu's face contorted in confusion. "Why can't we?"

"Because I don't want them to know," Sayo continued in her head. Not until I'm gone at least…

"Sayo, you should just tell them," Saya advised. She was right. All Sayo was succeeding in doing was confusing them.

"Okay," Sayo tried to calm herself before she spilled. "A couple weeks ago, Yoshida-kun asked me to go to America with him to further my dancing career."

"Whoa," Maki breathed, eyes wide in shock. None of them had expected that. They were all equally shocked by this.

"And, I've decided that I'd like to go with him," Sayo finished, watching their shocked faces. All of their eyes widened quite a bit by now.

"When will you be going?" Juri asked, the information sinking in a bit.

"On the last day of December," Sayo answered, knowing there'd be reactions right and left. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Tetsu and Minoru stop what they were doing.

"Will you be coming back?" Kiri asked, ready to burst into anger if the answer was no. Sayo could see her hair beginning to stand on end.

"I'm pretty sure we'd be coming back for holidays and important occasions," Sayo answered. Apparently, 'pretty sure' wasn't a good enough answer for Kiri.

"He better let you come back!" Kiri told her, standing from her seat with her fist formed. "Otherwise he'd be sure to get it from me."

"Eheh," Sayo closed her eyes and showed a cheesy smile.

"So, we can't tell the guys about this, right?" Maki made sure she had heard right.

"Yeah," Sayo nodded her head. "I don't want them to know about it."

"Why not?" Mitsu questioned, not completely understanding why they weren't allowed to tell the guys about this.

"It's not their business," Sayo shot at her angrily.

"Okay, yeesh, don't have to get angry at me," Mitsu put her hands up in an act of surrender.

"You heard me, right Tetsu-san, Minoru-san?" Sayo walked over to the front of the takoyaki stand. The two group members were trying to make it look like they were busy and not paying attention to the conversation.

"Uh…" Tetsu shifted his eyes left and right while turning the takoyaki in their places so they didn't overcook.

"Yeah," Minoru smiled and nodded his head. This action earned him a smack on the head from Tetsu, followed by the word 'idiot'.

"It's okay that you heard, I want you to tell Ojichan and Kumiko-sempai for me, okay?" Sayo smiled at them. They were innocent in all of this anyways. It was the girls who decided to have this conversation in front of their business after all.

"Ah, yes," Tetsu nodded his head and refocused on his work, as did Minoru.

Sayo smiled and turned away from them to let them continue with their work. No need to bother them any longer. Saya slipped a wide smile on her face that spelled mischief. Sayo kept her eye on her cousin and waited to hear what had possessed her all of a sudden.

"I just got a good idea," Saya waggled her eyebrows at the girls, sending out a suggestive vibe. Sayo felt a pit form in her gut. Now what?

"Yeah?" Kiri jumped up and joined Saya, a mischievous smile taking over her face. She slung her arm around Saya's shoulders. "What might this idea be?"

Mitsu had a smile on her face that matched Kiri's. "Yes, do tell."

Maki and Juri sat there, watching the banter between them go on some more. This reminded them of the old days, back in high school. Before they had met the guys. Although, now that they had met the guys, they all felt that they could never truly un-meet them. Sayo felt dread wash over her for a second waiting for Saya to respond.

"We should plan a swim day," Saya answered the question that had been posed to her.

"Oh, that sounds really good," Kiri stood up, stars in her eyes. She obviously approved of the idea.

"Yeah, I haven't been swimming in a while," Mitsu nodded her head in agreement.

"This'll give me the opportunity to actually wear that new bikini I bought at the beginning of summer…" Maki nodded, looking thoughtful.

Sayo felt herself exhale a breath she didn't know she was holding in. The pit in her gut began to disappear. Relief had never felt better.

"Here's the question, though," Juri started, standing to throw away her empty takoyaki carton.

"What's that?" Saya inquired, her face shifting from mischief to curiosity in a flash.

"Who has a pool?"

"Oh, you're right," Saya folded her arms across her chest and stared at the ground quizzically.

"It's too late to go to the beach…" Kiri mumbled, thinking of a solution to their problem.

"Not to mention that it's nearly the end of August, and it's getting colder," Juri continued as she came back to the bench and sat down again.

"Hmm…" the girls all thought hard. Sayo silently made her way to the other bench and sat down, waiting for them to come to a conclusion.

* * *

"Man I'm bored…" Hyuga mumbled. He was currently at the Dream Star helping prepare for the night and washing dishes.

"What? Bored at work?" Kojima questioned, having heard the younger man's remark.

"Ah, no, not at work…" Hyuga jumped, startled by Kojima's sudden response. Kojima didn't talk too much during preparations unless he was teaching Hyuga something bartender related. "Just at home, nothing interesting is happening…"

"Ah, bored at home, I see…" Kojima nodded his head, understanding how his apprentice felt. "It's going to get quite boring here soon anyway."

"Oh, yeah, with Sayo-chan and DJ Tama leaving for America in December…" Hyuga nodded, knowing what Kojima meant. The whole staff at the Dream Star had to know since Yoshida was their DJ. Some other fall back was going to be his stand-in. Business was going to be slow for sure. Most of the customers came to hear Tama in the first place. If he wasn't around, they weren't around.

"It's good for their careers if they go," Kojima added in. "I hear they're participating in another competition soon."

"Oh, I hope they do well like last time," Hyuga nodded his head, still washing dishes. It was mostly glasses that he had to wash. Hardly anyone who came here ordered food. That's why the food menu was so small in the first place.

"Yeah," Kojima agreed, nodding his head. The two fell silent. DJ Tama was not going to be in tonight because he had practice with Sayo. It must be tough on him, having two completely different jobs.

* * *

Hayato got a call on his cell. It startled him, he certainly wasn't expecting anyone to be contacting him. Curiously he answered his cell without looking at the caller id. "Hello?"

"Hey, Yabuki-kun, do you have a pool at your apartment complex?" Saya asked. They had already ruled out each dorm, and Saya's mom's apartment complex. Mitsu didn't want to bother her parents with a pool party. So they resorted to calling one of the two who didn't live in a college dorm or still at home.

"Uh, I think so…" Hayato answered, standing from the couch to find Ryu, who knew such things. Luckily for him, Ryu was just making his way out of his room. "Hey, Ryu," he got his best friend's attention quickly.

"What?" Ryu responded, not wanting to hear something stupid fly out of his mouth.

"Is there a pool here?"

Ryu blinked at Hayato. He thought for a moment before answering the question. He remembered hearing something from his dad before he moved out of his family's home about the place having a pool and outdoor washer and dryer for wet clothes. Showers in the bathrooms too. "Yeah, there is."

"Yeah, there's a pool here," Hayato answered Saya's question. "Why?"

"Well, here's the thing," Saya began. She explained that the girls wanted to do something fun, they hadn't done anything fun together in a while, and they wanted to have a pool party. So, surprise, you're now the host of it! Invite the other guys to come too. And she hung up without letting him answer.

Hayato blinked, bringing the phone away from his ear and staring at it incredulously. How could she just drop a bomb on him like that and think it was all fine and dandy?

"What?" The second he said it, Ryu knew he would regret it. The expression on Hayato's face told him that much. He really didn't want to know. But he asked anyway, might as well find out what it was.

"We're now the hosts of a pool party that's happening this weekend…" Hayato answered, knowing Ryu wouldn't be extremely thrilled by this. He snuck a peek at his roommate/best friend to see his reaction. Hayato grimaced a little at the expression he saw.

"I disown you," Ryu said and walked into the kitchenette, which was the reason why he left his room in the first place. To get a drink.

"Hey, wait a minute," Hayato watched as Ryu walked past him and snapped his phone shut.

"You didn't have the balls to say no to her?" Ryu chastised Hayato, not even looking back at the guy while getting a bottle of water out of the fridge, wishing secretly that it was some form of alcohol.

"It's not that I didn't have the balls, it's that I didn't have the chance," Hayato retorted, fighting this battle through and through. "She didn't let me say anything and then hung up!"

"Mm-hm," Ryu nodded his head, closing the fridge and opening his bottle. Not saying anything more about this party, he put the bottle to his lips and drank.

"The plus side is that she told me to invite the other guys," Hayato finished. Flipping open his cell again, he sent out emails to each of them, telling them about the pool party and when to come over. He also specified that they each needed to bring something to contribute to the party, like food and drink.

"Whatever, don't you have work tonight?" Ryu reminded Hayato as he headed back for his room.

"Ah!" Hayato froze. Yep. He forgot he had the night shift again tonight. He hadn't realized how late it had actually gotten. Time flies when you can't say a word.

* * *

"Okay, so we've got a place and a date now," Saya snapped her phone shut and pocketed it. She had a really smug expression on her face.

"And all the guys will be there," Kiri smirked, getting a giddy feeling in her stomach. She couldn't wait to see Tsuchi again. It had been at least three weeks since their date.

"Oh, good," Mitsu rubbed her hands together evilly. She was also anticipating seeing Hyuga again. It had been even longer for her than it had been for Kiri. The poor guy had to work a lot when she wasn't working and vice versa.

"Well that's nice," Juri smiled chuckling at the way Mitsu was rubbing her hands together. She did feel a little out of the circle since all the others had a 'someone' of their own. Poor Juri was the only one left without a man.

"This will be a fun weekend," Maki smirked, imagining how the guys would react when they saw the girls' swimsuits. And how she would react to seeing Take in swim trunks…

Sayo felt the pit in her stomach return, this time as a gaping hole that only knew how to grow. Her imagination grew overactive, forming fantasies of Ryu in swim trunks. The only information she needed to hear was that the party was being held at his apartment. That bit set off her imagination like gasoline coming into contact with a lit match. On the outside, Sayo just seemed like she was dazed, staring at the cement sidewalk in front of her. Although, none of the other girls were paying any attention to her and her perverted fantasies. They were all busy having their own, including Saya.

Who knew that such fine young ladies could be perverted?

* * *

Sayo and Saya were heading to Sayo's house for dinner that night. It had gotten pretty late before they had even realized that they had been at the park for hours now. When Tetsu and Minoru left, they knew it was getting late. Their stomachs told them it was about time for dinner. So, Saya figured she'd join her aunt and uncle for dinner.

"Hey, is this weekend's party gonna be okay for you?" Saya inquired, knowing Sayo had more hours of practice with Yoshida on the weekends than during the week.

"Yeah," Sayo nodded her head, trying to block out the images that wanted to invade with the mention of the pool party they were having.

"Are you gonna swim?" Saya asked, a smirk sneaking onto her face.

"I'm not sure, it'll depend on when I actually arrive," Sayo shrugged her shoulders, ignoring Saya's smirk. "I do have practice."

"Yeah, that's why I figured you wouldn't be swimming," Saya nodded her head, refocusing her attention on the sidewalk.

"Well, then, don't ask stupid questions," Sayo remarked snidely, glaring lightly at Saya.

"Sorry," Saya chuckled. Sayo was right.

"Man," Sayo sighed, earning a curious glance from her cousin. "I hope I don't screw up at the next competition…"

"Oh yeah, when is it?" Saya blinked, realizing that it had to be right around the corner by now. She had preparing for her second competition for weeks now.

"In two days…" Sayo sighed again, closing her eyes.

"Don't think about it too hard, I'm sure you'll do fine," Saya smiled kindly and patted Sayo on the shoulder.

"I hope you're right…" Sayo mumbled, feeling the pressure to keep her standard up to her last win. She didn't want it to look like she was a one hit wonder.

"I don't know why you don't have much confidence in your abilities," Saya commented, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because you've got serious talent."

"Thanks, but I think I'm just really nervous, that's all," Sayo tried to smile, but wasn't succeeding.

"Don't be nervous, this is what you're good at," Saya reassured her cousin, trying to be supportive. "Like when you sing."

Sayo could only chuckle and smile at that. Dancing was in no way comparable to singing, but she wasn't about to burst Saya's bubble on the subject. Besides, they were right outside her house now. "Come on, good homemade food for dinner tonight."

"Oh, haven't had that in a while," Saya smiled wide and the two entered the house.

"I'm home!"


	24. Chapter 18

_A/N: **OMG** this is like one of my most favorite chapters ever! So long! Longest one in a while... But this one is just so funny, and good, and **I love it**! Hope you love it too! I love torturing Hayato..._

* * *

**Chapter 18: It Involves Embarrassment & A Pool, But Thankfully Not At The Same Time...**

On the last weekend of August, the girls all planned to gather together with the guys at Ryu and Hayato's apartment complex to go swimming. Swimming in August? Late August at that? Yes, they are crazy indeed. However, they all felt that they needed to do something fun together, since it had been a long time. So, swimming just before it got really cold seemed like the perfect answer to their problem. Although, if anyone was to ask Ryu, he would tell them that 'that dumbass', a.k.a. Hayato, had no balls and couldn't say no to a girl, so they were stuck with host duty of a party they hadn't even planned on having. Needless to say, no one wanted to ask Ryu.

Hyuga was the first of the guys to show up, food and drink in tow. He had brought loads of Ramune sodas and daifuku. "I brought the good stuff," he said as he walked into the kitchenette to place the perishables in the fridge. He had on his swim trunks and a white t-shirt, flip flops that were easy to get on and off too. The usual beachwear/going-to-the-pool wear.

"Ooh, Ramune," Hayato smiled childishly, eyeing the sodas with killer intent. They were going to be his if he had any say in the matter. "Glad you could make it Hyuga."

"Thanks for inviting me, I don't get to do much lately," Hyuga smiled his cat-like smile and walked over to the couch where Ryu was currently reading.

"Ah, well, Saya-chan said to invite you guys, so I took her up on the offer," Hayato explained. Hyuga was aware that the girls were going to be there. Although, none of them had shown up yet.

Take knocked on the door before anything else could be said between the two. Hayato hustled his way over and opened the door. "Yo Take, it's been a while."

"Hey Hayato," Take smiled and entered the apartment, bottles of milk tea in hand, along with a bag of pudding cups.

"Wow, that's a lot of pudding…" Hyuga mumbled, watching Take shuffle by on his way to the kitchenette. Ryu wasn't effected. He knew Take would bring something sweet along with him.

"Well, you never know what other people will eat, so pudding was an easy bet," Take smiled, unloading the cups into the fridge by fours.

"And the milk tea?" Hayato smirked, wanting to hear what his excuse was.

"For anyone who doesn't want soda," Take explained, placing them in the fridge now that all the pudding was in.

"How about it was the cheapest route?" Hayato chuckled, seeing Take scratch his cheek due to embarrassment with a smile.

"Busted?" Take he chuckled.

"Busted," Hyuga nodded, chuckling along with them. Ryu was still quiet, way into his book at the moment.

Two loud knocks sounded on the door and Hayato hustled his way over again, a quicker pace this time. Peering through the peep hole in the door, he saw Tsuchi looking back at him. A smile spread across his face and he opened the door. "Tsuchi."

"Yo, brought sushi," Tsuchi called as he walked in, holding the bag of freshly made sushi over his head, a large smile on his face.

"Ooh, good choice," Hyuga grinned, nodding his head as he watched Tsuchi make his way to the fridge as well. Take was just standing and moving out of the way.

"And Coca-Cola, huh?" Take smirked, knowing how the guys were. Soda all the way. Coffee in the mornings. Only tea at a formal occasion. They were still under aged for beer or any other type of alcohol.

"Yeah, figured we'd have a little variety," Tsuchi nodded, placing the bag of sushi in the fridge on it's own shelf and the three two liters on another shelf on their sides.

"Well, so far we have Ramune, milk tea, and now Coca-Cola," Hayato listed on his fingers. He tried to think of anything else they had in the fridge since the guys were only in and out.

"Don't forget we have bottled water," Ryu added on from the couch, not so wrapped up in his book now that all the guys were here. He figured they might be able to keep his mind off of Sayo for a change.

By now, it was about a half an hour before the set time for the party, and only half of the guests were there. However, Hayato had to add in the fact that the girls had to pick out a swimsuit, then an outfit, and then they had to grab whatever it was they were bringing to contribute to this party. After all, they were the ones who came up with this crazy idea of a pool party on the last days of August. The guys had food and drink duty, so they had to get there before hand in order to let everyone else know what they were going to be eating. There were some really good choices.

"Man, I can't believe you've already had girls over here," Tsuchi commented, taking a seat at the table Hayato and Ryu occasionally used to eat dinner.

"It's only been Saya-chan and Sayo-chan," Hayato shrugged. It was no big deal to him. They were two girls that were friends, and nothing happened.

"Still, that's two more girls than I've had in my dorm ever since I got into it," Tsuchi complained, leaning back on the chair. He sighed to make it seem more dramatic.

"Oh please, you don't need any other girls, you've got Kiri-chan," Take made a sour face toward Tsuchi. Take frowned upon betraying the girl you like, or even love, but they weren't that far along in their relationship for love, so it was just like for now. That was one of the main reasons he had stepped in to help out Maki-chan when he had first met her anyway. He was pretty serious about that.

"I know, I'm just joking," Tsuchi calmed him down by reassuring Take that it was just a joke. "I'd love to have Kiri-chan over to my place for dinner one night, it'd be the perfect date."

"Oh, getting comfortable with her, are we?" Hayato smirked at Tsuchi, shooting him a suggestive grin.

"Don't be disgusting," Ryu shot him down with one little sentence. He was still being a bit cold. Even if it was half jokingly, he still disowned Hayato for having no balls.

"Yes sir," Hayato shrunk back down into his seat and shut up.

"Wow, he really is pissed at you," Hyuga mumbled, eyes wide, surprised by how cold Ryu's voice sounded.

"You should probably be careful there, Hayato," Take warned, a small smile on his face. He and Hayato knew just how Ryu got when he was mad. It usually wasn't a pretty sight. "If you lay low he'll be fine in about a week or two."

"Yeah, I know…" Hayato mumbled, shrinking even more in his chair under Ryu's icy glare that he was currently receiving.

Someone knocked rhythmically on the door, causing the guys to look over at it funny. With his eyebrows furrowed, Hayato stood from his chair to make his way to the door, and looked out the peep hole. To his own surprise, he saw Mitsu and Maki standing there with smiles on their faces and waving. "Ah," Hayato smiled and backed up to open the door for the two.

"Hey, we brought a cooler, filled with ice," Mitsu greeted, a large smile on her face as she pulled the cooler into the apartment. It was on wheels so it was easier to move around. Maki came in behind it.

"This way we can load up the food and drinks and bring them down to the pool so we're not going up and down the whole time," Maki explained the reason why they brought the cooler in the first place.

"Yeah, I borrowed it from my parents," Mitsu chuckled, stopping close to the kitchenette with the cooler, setting it down to rest her arm. She had lugged it all the way up the steps because there was a line for the elevator.

"Oh, that's a good idea," Tsuchi nodded from his chair at the table. Take stood and walked over to Maki to greet her.

"Hey Maki-chan," Take smiled and she hugged him.

"Hey Takeda-kun, how've you been?" Maki smiled back at him, after they released themselves from the hug.

"Working hard, and studying my butt off," Take joked with a smile. "How about you?"

"Oh, school and work," Maki continued to smile. Mitsu made some racket setting down the cooler, causing everyone to look at her.

"So, are we gonna start filling her up or what?" Mitsu smirked, jabbing her thumb toward the cooler, suggesting they move the food and drinks now.

"Uh, sure why not," Tsuchi shrugged, standing from his chair by the table and moving toward the fridge. Take and Hyuga followed him over, trailing behind.

As they began to fill the cooler with drinks, another knock on the door sounded. Hayato made his way back to the door to let in the guest. It was Juri this time, with a pack of wooden chopsticks in her hands, along with a bag filled with a towel. Hayato smiled as the petite girl made her way into the apartment.

"I brought chopsticks in case we needed them," Juri announced with an innocent smile on her face.

"Oh, we can use those to pick out the sushi pieces we want," Hyuga nodded his head as the three loaded the bag of sushi and Coca-Cola into the cooler. Somehow they had to make all of this stuff fit without crushing anything else in the process.

"If we don't use them all, I can donate them to a restaurant my roommate works at," Juri smiled, knowing it was mostly finger food that was going to be brought. She was glad she had a back up plan for them so they weren't a waste of money.

"That's awfully nice of you, Juri-chan," Hayato commented on the girl's good nature. She only smiled back at him.

Before anyone had the time to breathe, there were more knocks on the door. Hayato turned around on his heel and hurried to the door again. Peering through the peep hole, he saw Kiri's eye up close. Backing away, he took a step back and opened the door to let them in.

"Hey, we should probably head down now, the only one missing is Sayo-chan," Saya suggested, sticking her head into the doorway before even entering the apartment.

"Oh, you're right," Hayato realized, only upon hearing it from someone. Ryu made a face toward him, but Hayato was too distracted to notice it at the moment. Ryu sighed, seeing Saya's hands full of cups and plates for food.

Ryu stood from the couch and grabbed his keys. "Come on, I'll let you in the pool area," he told Saya, slipping on his flip flops and leading her down.

"Thanks Odagiri-kun, I appreciate it," Saya smiled at him and followed diligently. Since Kiri was too busy making goo-goo eyes at Tsuchi, Juri figured she would head down with Saya and Ryu to the pool area. She figured she could help out down there more than up here.

Hayato and the others hardly noticed the other three were gone already. They were too busy trying to figure out the jigsaw puzzle that was fitting everything into the cooler without squashing anything delicate. It took them a good five minutes before they were ready to haul it downstairs to the pool area. Getting it down would be the hard part. Hopefully there wasn't a line for the elevator. If they had to try to get it down the stairs with all that food and those drinks in it, it would probably land a few of them in the hospital.

Luckily for them, they got there just as the last people in line were boarding it. They would have to wait a few minutes, but they would be able to use the elevator anyway. It was worth the wait. As for the girls who weren't carrying the cooler, they headed down the stairs and met the guys at the elevator on the first floor. Then it was up to Hayato to lead them to the pool area and get them in. As they were heading for the elevator they realized that Ryu, Saya and Juri weren't in the apartment. They figured the three had gone down ahead of them.

Once reunited, they all headed toward the pool area. Juri was leaning over the edge of the fence surrounding the pool as a means of flagging them over so they didn't get lost. Hayato hopped in the front to open the gate with his key and held it open so they could get the cooler in without the gate closing on them. The girls headed to the chairs to lay down their towels while the guys set up the cooler and table for their little party.

"It's a pretty nice day for it being the end of August and all," Saya commented as she slid off her flip flops next to her chair.

"Yeah, it really is," Juri added in, her chair not too far from Saya's, as she slid off her dress to reveal a bikini. Her swimsuit fit her, since it was a skirt bottom. It had two colors, white and a fuchsia, though fuchsia was more prominent. The skirt had a white band and two fuchsia layers. The top was a halter, white string around her neck, mostly fuchsia with a white bow in the middle, and two ruffle layers of fuchsia on top and white underneath. It was cute. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = JuriSwim1 .jpg )

"Oh, Juri-chan coming out with a bikini~," Kiri sang with a smirk on her face, sitting on her towel-covered chair and observing the others.

"Oh, work it, Juri-chan," Mitsu waggled her eyebrows at her friend in a joking way. Juri only chuckled at them and stood by the edge of the pool. The guys looked over to see what all the commotion was about. They were surprised to see Juri in a bikini and almost in the pool already.

"Wow Juri-chan, you look really cute," Take smiled, making an innocent comment a friend would make. It didn't bother Maki at all.

"Thanks," Juri smiled and jumped into the pool.

The rest of the girls began taking off their clothes and revealing their own swimsuits as well. If Juri had the courage, so did they. Then again, Juri didn't have her eye on any of the guys here, so she was practically safe. Unless of course, anyone else from the apartments came down today. Although, that was highly unlikely. After all, they were the crazy ones swimming at the end of August.

"Is it me, or is it getting hot out here?" Tsuchi joked, referring to the girls undressing themselves. They all couldn't help but stare at them. Even Hayato. Ryu, as we all know, wasn't paying attention.

Maki unbuttoned her shorts overalls and let them fall to the ground below her feet. Her bikini bottoms were the same print as her overalls. Then she pulled the white t-shirt she had on under the overalls over her head and set it on the ground behind her chair, by her bag. Bending over, she picked up the overalls and placed them in the bag as well. Her bikini was striped white and a light blue with denim accents. The top was also a halter neck style. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = MakiSwim1 .jpg )

Kiri quickly tossed off her red Racerback and busied herself in undoing the buttons on her shorts. Finally getting them undone, she slid them down to her ankles and stepped out of them. Both garments in hand, she placed them in her bag behind her chair and turned toward the pool with a determined smirk. Her bikini was a variety of oranges, reds and yellows in a striped pattern. There was a little bow tied with string in the front of her top, and on the sides of her bottoms that blended in, since they were the same pattern as the whole suit. Before any of the guys were able to say anything, she giggled and hopped into the pool without another thought. (Link: http:/ s718. Photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = KiriSwim1 .jpg )

Mitsu stood next to her chair, eyeing Kiri. She shook her head after Kiri's body was submerged in the water. Continuing what she was doing, she tossed off her tie-dye t-shirt onto the chair in front of her and unzipped her skirt on the side, letting it fall to the ground. Stepping out of her skirt, she bent over to pick it up off the ground, grabbed her shirt on her way up, and tossed the two into her bag. Her bikini bottoms were a teal color and had rings on the front side by her hips. The top was a bandeau with fringe accent, in the same teal color. After applying sunscreen, she turned toward the pool to join Kiri and Juri. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = MitsuSwim01 .jpg )

By now Ryu, had already left the pool area and was on his way up to the apartment. Might as well change since he'll be down there with the others. You know they're bound to push him in if he doesn't at least prepare himself for getting wet. So, he went up to change into his trunks, and decided he'd bring down a couple of towels aside from his own. Never know when someone else will need a towel. Although, it's not like the others noticed he was gone. They were too busy watching the girls to care if he was there or not at the moment.

Saya was the last one of the girls to reveal her swimsuit. She unzipped her hoodie and gently placed it into her bag with her back to the guys. Her hair was too long to tell what kind of top it was. The guys thought that the little red shorts she was wearing were going to come off, but realized as she turned around and eyed the pool, that those were her bikini bottoms. They looked like little exercise shorts, with a little white string tied in a bow to boot, just like a drawstring. But they were her bottoms. And her top was like a super short version of a polo shirt with no sleeves. A red collar, white and red stripes on the rest of the fabric. She looked really good in it though, they had to admit. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = SayaSwim01 .jpg )

The guys decided not to waste any more time standing around gawking at the girls and tossed off their own shirts to join them. Well, save for Hayato. He had to go back up to the apartment and change, like Ryu did.

"You guys start the party without us, I gotta go change," Hayato told the other three guys as he jogged out of the pool area and up the stairs to the apartment.

"Well, he took off fast…" Hyuga mumbled, watching where Hayato had just recently stood. Shrugging it off quickly, he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the chair nearest him. His trunks were black with silver fire on the bottom of each leg. After kicking off his flip flops, he headed for the pool.

"Yeah, no kidding," Tsuchi laughed, pulling his t-shirt over his head. Kiri and Mitsu both stared blatantly at how toned Tsuchi's stomach was. Mitsu stopped after a few seconds, but Kiri continued to stare. Her face became a bright red. His trunks were really cool. White with a red and black intricate graphic on the left leg, while the right leg was simply white with a red fleur de lis on the outer edge. The red and black graphic had white in it too. The red filled up the leg, as rays of white represented the rising sun. The graphic had a large skull in profile view on it, surrounded by cherubs and other abstract pieces that looked almost like flowers, but not quite. Without another thought, he headed over to the pool and joined the crowd. (Link to his trunks: http:/ www. world-top-trade. com/ images/ upload/ Affliction % 20Swim % 20Trunks-6 .jpg )

Take also stripped himself of his shirt, leaving only his white trunks on his body. There was no special design on them, just plain white trunks. Maki wasn't disappointed. In a way, it stood for his innocence. Aside from the things he's done with his friends that were "bad", he was a purely innocent guy. He made his way to the pool as well, jumping in from the edge to join everyone else. (Link: http:/ media. photobucket. com/ image/ koike % 20teppei/ fatima_041/ scan22 .jpg ? o = 393 )

Hayato came rounding the corner with a towel under his arm and flip flops on his feet. His chest was bare. All he had on was his swim trunks, which had an odd orange, green and yellow design on it. He entered the fence, tossed his towel down on a chair, kicked off his flip flops and hopped into the pool.

"Ne Hayato," Take called over to the newcomer.

"Yeah?" Hayato responded, wading his way over to Take, who was standing with Maki in the shallow end.

"Where's Ryu?"

"Oh, he's almost done changing up there, he got a surprise phone call from his dad while he was up there," Hayato explained, shrugging his shoulders in a way that relayed that the call was no big deal.

"Oh, alright," Take nodded, letting Hayato wade off into the deeper end of the pool where the others were.

"Ne Saya, when's Sayo getting here you think?" Mitsu asked Saya while attempting to float on her back. It wasn't working very well.

"Hm, I'm not sure, let me go check," Saya pushed herself toward the edge of the pool and hauled herself out. After letting most of the excess water drain off her body, she walked over to her towel, dried her hands, and pulled her cell phone from her bag. Flipping it open, she saw a message alert. Opening the mail, she read that Sayo was almost ready to leave, her mom was almost done with the food.

Hayato drifted to the edge of the pool where Saya was standing. Leaning his arms on the edge of the pool and peering at her, he waited for her to come back. She bent down to put her phone back where it was in the bag. Hayato couldn't help but stare at her butt for a minute or two. He tore his eyes away as soon as she turned around to come back.

"She'll be here in a little bit, she's almost ready to leave the house," Saya told Mitsu, hopping in next to Hayato.

"Well, that's good, Ryu won't be lonely then," Hayato smirked, knowing Saya might possibly get the little hint he was dropping.

"Yeah," Saya smirked, getting the hint and agreeing whole heartedly. She knew how Sayo felt, and how Ryu felt. Even so, she refused to try to force them together, knowing that would only push them away from each other. It was better if they just came together naturally.

Everyone swam around for a little bit. Half an hour later, Sayo finally showed up to the pool. There was the sound of a car driving away in the background right before she rounded the corner. Along with her large bag over her shoulder, she was holding two rather large, multi-layer bento boxes in both of her hands. She had on a Racerback t-shirt under a sleeveless hoodie zipped half way up, and a pair of distressed denim shorts that the pockets peaked out from the cut-off ends. Her feet were adorned with a pair of navy blue flip flops, her toe nails painted black. "Hey everyone," she smiled in greeting at the gate.

"Oh, hang on a second," Hayato hauled himself out of the pool hurriedly and rushed over to let her in. He smiled at her as he opened the gate and directed her to their table of food and drinks with his hand. "Good to see you."

"Thanks Yabuki-kun," Sayo smiled and made her way to the table to set down the food. The bento boxes were set on the table first, then she swung her bag around to in front of her body and pulled out a large container filled with dark liquid. She brought a drink too. Seeing the cooler, she bent down and opened it to place the container of liquid inside to get it cold again.

"So, what all did you bring with you?" Hayato, ever so curious, asked her from behind.

"Well, I had my mom make some onigiri for us," Sayo motioned toward the bento boxes after straightening herself out. "And we made some sweet tea."

"Ooh, homemade onigiri," Hayato's eyes sparkled upon hearing the word 'onigiri'. "Are they all one flavor, or are there more than one?"

"They're all different flavors, and completely mixed up," Sayo answered, seeing his face go blank. "So my mom made little labels for each one so you know what you're grabbing."

"Oh, well, that's good," Hayato sighed in relief. "Are you going to swim?"

"I'm still not sure," Sayo shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not wearing it, but I brought my bikini just in case I decide to."

"Well, at least you're prepared," Hayato nodded his head and made his way back to the pool.

Sayo smiled at that and swung her bag back behind her body on her shoulder. Eyeing the other chairs around the pool, she studied each towel. Kiri and Juri were close to each other, then it was Maki and Mitsu with somebody else in between them. She judged either Hyuga or Takeda had taken that spot. There were two more chairs in between Maki's and Saya's. Probably two of the guys. On the other side of Kiri and Juri was a pair of flip flops she didn't recognize either, guessing it was Tsuchi's. Making her decision, she made her way to the open chair next to Saya's. Once there, she sat down on it, swung her bag to the floor and pulled out her large towel. She stood back up and covered the chair with it.

Mitsu and Kiri were closer to the deep end of the pool, goofing around with Tsuchi and Hyuga. They were making a lot of noise. Juri sat in the shallow end, soaking up the sun by herself. Maki and Take were lounging around in the middle of the pool together, just talking and laughing. Hayato and Saya were also in the middle of the pool, but closer to the edge. Saya was waiting for Sayo to finish what she was doing before she began a conversation. Hayato wanted to stay with Saya.

Sitting back down on the chair, Sayo used the side of her foot to push her bag behind the chair. Pulling out her sunglasses from the pocket in her hoodie, she slipped her feet out of her flip flops and lounged on the chair with her feet crossed over each other. She sighed and closed her eyes. Then she realized something. She hadn't seen Ryu yet. Maybe he wasn't going to join them.

"Hey, Sayo," Saya called to her cousin just before she got comfortable. Sayo sat back up and pushed her sunglasses on top of her head. "You're not getting in?"

"Not right now, maybe in a little bit," Sayo shrugged her shoulders.

"How did the competition go the other day?" Saya inquired. She hadn't spoken to Sayo since the middle of the week. Which wasn't normal for them. They usually talked every other day.

"Oh," a large, happy smile graced Sayo's face as she was reminded of her triumph. "We got first place!"

"Wow!" Saya smiled happily. That was really good for the two of them. The more wins they had under their belt before they left, the better off they were. They had to have a good reputation before they went to America and tried to compete with them.

"I know, I was so ecstatic," Sayo chuckled, remembering her own reaction. "I almost didn't respond until Yoshida-kun nudged me."

"Thought it was too good to be true, huh?" Hayato nodded his head, understanding in a way. It was almost like a dream when he realized he was graduating.

"Yeah, you could say that," Sayo nodded her head, opening her eyes.

A rattle at the gate caught their attention. All of them looked over to see who the newcomer was. Ryu pushed the gate open, towels stuffed under his arm as he entered. He silently made his way to the nearest chair to put down his own towel then turned to the guys. "I brought down towels for you guys," Ryu told the others, because he knew Hayato had his own.

"Oh, I'm over there," Take pointed to the chair in between Maki and Mitsu's. Ryu made his way over and set one on the end of the chair.

"I'm over by the table," Tsuchi told Ryu in between laughs and splashes. Kiri was messing around and splashing him in the face.

Ryu nodded his head simply and made his way toward the chair Tsuchi referred to. That was the last chair to place a towel on. Hyuga had brought his own as well. Ryu silently made his way back to his chair and tossed his t-shirt onto it. Making sure to kick off his flip flops, Ryu headed over to the pool to join the others.

By the time Ryu had made his way back to his chair, before he took off his shirt, Sayo had already placed her sunglasses back on her face. Although, she was unable to prevent herself from seeing his bare chest. She desperately tried to keep herself from staring at him in awe. His black trunks made him look good. Really good. Saya smirked seeing Sayo's reaction. She had practically been the same way with Hayato, so she didn't blame her cousin one bit.

Sayo lounged in her chair for a little bit and watched as everyone splashed around and swam in the pool. Kiri and Tsuchi were playing some kind of game together. Mitsu and Hyuga had gotten out to eat. Maki, Take and Juri were also out and eating. Hayato, Saya and Ryu were lounging in the pool, avoiding Tsuchi and Kiri's game. Stretching her arms up into the air, Sayo reached into her bag and grabbed her bikini. May as well join them, it wasn't going to get too much colder than it already was. Standing from her chair, she stopped by where Saya, Hayato and Ryu were on the edge of the pool. Ryu was a little more inwards, though.

"Oh, I see a bikini, you gonna join us?" Saya smirked, eyeing Sayo's bikini in her hand.

"Yeah, I'm thinking about it," Sayo nodded her head, shrugging her shoulders. Tsuchi jumped out of the pool as fast as he could, Kiri trailing behind him.

"Oh, nice bikini," Hayato smirked, eyeing Sayo's suit in her hand as well.

"Thanks," Sayo smirked back, dangling it in front of her. Ryu was watching Tsuchi as he rounded a corner, heading in Sayo's direction.

"Coming through!" Tsuchi yelled as a warning as he passed by Sayo's back. The force made her lose her balance a little, though she was able to regain it quickly.

"Hey!" Sayo yelled back at him, glaring at his back.

"Look out!" Saya yelled, trying to get Sayo's attention.

"Sayo!" Kiri's voice came right after Saya's, and Sayo turned her head just as Kiri's arm hit hers.

"Aaah!" Sayo yelped as her body began to fly toward the pool. Kiri kept chasing after Tsuchi, not looking back at Sayo. Moving quickly, Sayo knew she was going to end up in the water, so she braced herself and plugged her nose with her hand before her face went under.

Saya and Hayato were too shocked to do anything to help. Ryu, seeing what happened, rushed toward her to hopefully catch her before she got too wet. Unfortunately, he was too late, and she went under before he was able to stop it from happening. As he reached her, he pulled her body up, her head emerging from the water first. She took a gasp of air. She huffed a few times angrily, staring at the other side of the pool. Tsuchi had stopped running, seeing what happened to Sayo. The others over at the table had witnessed it too. They were having a hard time holding in their laughter. Growling, and still in Ryu's hold, Sayo turned her head toward Kiri, who had also stopped running to watch.

"Kiri!" Sayo grumbled, a face to seriously be feared displayed.

"It wasn't me!" Kiri cowered and waved her hands in front of her body, backing away from the pool, fearing Sayo was going to charge at her.

"You pushed me in!" Sayo retaliated, bringing her fist out of the water to show Kiri.

"Tsuchi started it!" Kiri pointed with her eyes closed like a little kid.

"Hey!" Tsuchi had a look of disbelief at what Kiri had said.

"I don't care, you pushed me in!" Sayo continued, readying herself to exit the pool.

"I didn't mean to!" Kiri ran over to the table and sat behind Juri.

"Now now Sayo," Saya intervened calmly. "Let's be grown up about this."

"Easy for you to say, you've got extra underwear!" Sayo pointed her finger at Saya.

Saya put her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh. Did Sayo really just admit that out loud? "Um…"

Sayo reddened in her face, realizing the information she had just put out in the open while she was seeing red. "Well, it's true," Sayo closed her eyes and turned her head away from Saya and Hayato, who were unable to contain their laughter. Ryu, who was still holding onto her shoulders, only blinked and looked away from her with his eyes closed.

"I can wash them if you want," Ryu mumbled, not wanting to sound perverted or anything like that. He just wished to get out of this situation. It was not something he enjoyed.

"Uh, sure," Sayo opened her eyes at the sound of his voice so close to her ear, and remembered that he was still holding her shoulders. This caused her face to redden even more.

He let go and they both exited the pool by the stairs. Each of them grabbed their towels, dried off the excess water, sliding on their flip flops, Sayo grabbed her bag and the two left the pool area. Saya and Hayato watched the two in silence, as did everyone else, and chuckled a little. Hayato looked over at her.

"Well, that was unexpected," Saya grinned, referring to what had just happened. "They're gonna be alone together again."

"Man, this probably isn't good for Ryu's mind…" Hayato furrowed his brows and crossed his arms over his chest. Saya looked at him curiously.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, after this he's just gonna stuff his nose into his studies and books even more than he did before," Hayato muttered bitterly. He hated not having someone to talk to. Silence was not golden to him.

"Hmm," Saya nodded her head and stared off into the distance. Her stomach grumbled a bit. "Let's eat."

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry," Hayato agreed and the two joined the others at the table.

* * *

Sayo followed Ryu up to his apartment silently, not wanting to think about what might happen. This was the third time she'd climbed these steps. Once behind him, the other in front of him. She wasn't sure if she liked either place. Especially since he didn't have his shirt on right now. She kept her eyes glued to the steps as much as she could to stop herself from staring at his half-covered back. Her stomach twisted into a knot from her nervousness.

Ryu's keys jingled in his hands as he unlocked the door and opened it. He moved aside and let her enter first. "If you want to shower, just leave your wet clothes by the door," Ryu told her since she looked a little lost. "I'll go down to wash and dry them for you."

"Thanks," she nodded, heading toward his room to the bathroom. That was the only thing she hated about his apartment. The bathroom was in his bedroom. She shut the door behind her.

Once he heard the door shut, Ryu sighed. The awkward feeling of knowing she was showering in his apartment overtook him once again. He needed a way to block out the feeling. Unfortunately, he needed to know when it was safe to reach into the door and grab her clothes to wash them. So, he sat in a chair by the table and waited for the water to come on in the bathroom.

Sayo stared at the shower before undressing. She felt herself become cold in the air conditioning, so she figured it was best to get in and out quickly. She dropped her towel on the floor, along with her soaked bikini that she didn't even get to wear. Then she unzipped her hoodie and tossed it on the towel. After getting her shorts and t-shirt off, she inhaled heavily. So he wouldn't see them outright, Sayo placed her bra and panties in between her other garments. Pursing her lips together, she walked over to the shower and turned on the water. After it was to her liking, she stepped in and pulled the curtains shut. Good thing for both of them that they weren't clear.

The water pattern changed, signaling to Ryu that she was in and it was okay to grab her clothes. Standing from the chair, he grabbed his own towel and headed into his bedroom. Before entering, he thought for a second. She would need another towel, since hers was all wet now. So, he went over to his closet and grabbed a fresh one for her when she was done showering. He slipped in quietly, placed the fresh towel on the sink counter and took off with her wet clothes. After that, he shut the door. Figuring he would shower downstairs, he grabbed a change of clothes and headed downstairs to wash hers.

After she was done showering, Sayo stood in front of the mirror in the fresh towel he left for her. "That was thoughtful of him…" she mumbled to herself with a soft smile. Sighing, she brought her mind back to her current situation. She had no underwear. And her only back up garment was a short halter dress. Her eye twitched at her own faulty decision to bring this along. What had she been thinking? There was no way that absolutely nothing was going to happen if she were in that skimpy thing. But it wasn't like just the towel was any better… Whimpering in defeat, she grabbed the dress out of her bag and held it up with one hand. She had to face him in this short thing while going commando? She sighed again. "So not my day…"

Once in the dress, she emerged cautiously out of his bedroom to find his apartment empty. She sighed in relief that he wasn't there to see this thing. However, she knew he would be coming back up anytime now. He would still see her in it. What was the point in hiding it? Seeing the remote on the coffee table, she made her way to the couch and sat down in front of the tube. She flipped through the channels to see what all was on. Nothing caught her eye. She sighed and left it on a music station, so she could hear some music while alone.

Downstairs, Ryu had just finished showering in the bathrooms by the pool. After all, that's what they were for in the first place. They were a convenience for anyone who wanted to use the pool and then go somewhere feeling fresh and clean. There was even shampoo, conditioner and soap in there for anyone to use. Ryu did indeed feel fresh and clean. He had on a pair of sweat pants and a sleeveless t-shirt. He was still toweling his hair when the washer signaled that it was done. He walked over to the dryer and opened the door. Then he switched the load from the washer to the dryer.

While setting the dryer, Ryu couldn't help but think if Sayo had something else to wear. Was she possibly sitting around in his apartment with just a towel on? He didn't really want to think about it, but couldn't stop the thoughts from coming through the filter. He saw the others sitting at the tables still eating before they got back into the pool, letting their food settle so they didn't get sick. Knowing the dryer could take a while, Ryu headed up to the apartment to check on Sayo. He had nothing better to do. If she wasn't out yet, which he highly doubted, at least he could sit and watch TV.

Sayo lounged on the couch singing along to every song she knew, feeling like she wanted to get up and dance around like a fool. The song may have been a year or two old, but she didn't care. It was a really good song. She decided to do it because no one was around to see her be crazy. So, standing from the couch and moving away from the coffee table so she wouldn't trip, she began to feel the rhythm of the song in her body. Not caring about the length of the dress anymore, she danced freely with her eyes closed, letting out all of her pent up stress. The competitions were proving to be quite stressful for her, even though she was supposed to be able to relieve her stress by dancing. Of course, the dancing she performed during competitions was completely different from what she did for fun. She had the volume up pretty loud, she figured someone could probably hear it from outside.

As expected, Ryu could indeed hear the music through the front door as he neared it. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at the noise, he quickly came to a conclusion that she was out of the shower by now. He heard the faint words to the song "GAME" by Ayumi Hamasaki. There was a chance that she was doing something in there, so he waited for the song to end before he disturbed her.

Sayo was throwing her head from side to side, singing along with the song, getting so into it as if she were performing the song for a hundred people on a stage. Instead she was inside Ryu's apartment, and there was no one around to see this once in a lifetime performance. Once the song was over, the door made a sound, causing Sayo to jump a little. She wasn't expecting him to be back up so soon. She quickly bounded over to the coffee table, grabbed the remote and turned down the volume before he said anything; before he was blasted away by the next song that was coming on any second now. Standing up straight and facing the TV just as he walked in, sparing him the view of her butt, literally, she sighed in relief. She had been fast enough to prevent a disaster from happening.

"Thought I'd just come check on you," Ryu informed her about his sudden arrival, eyes trained away from her after he noticed what she was wearing. "The clothes are in the dryer now."

"Oh, that's good," Sayo smiled and sat down on the couch again, making sure the bottom of the dress didn't ride up too much to reveal anything she didn't want to be revealed. She quickly became self conscious of what she was wearing.

Ryu said nothing, but felt extremely awkward with her sitting there so casually in such a short dress. He tried his hardest to keep his eyes away from her. After all, it was easy to tell she didn't have any under garments on. Deciding to not make this any more awkward than it already was, he joined her on the couch casually. Well, as casually as he could manage anyway. They sat there in silence, the TV the only thing making noise in the apartment. The silence got too large for either of them to handle.

"So, were you enjoying yourself?" Ryu came out of nowhere with this question to her, earning him a surprised stare.

"Uh, a little, I guess…" she looked at her lap, red in the face and embarrassed.

"That's good," Ryu smirked a little, turning his head back to the TV.

They sat in silence once again, neither having a clue as to what they should talk about. Another song played, and Ryu noticed Sayo was tapping her feet and fingers to the beat. It almost looked as if she was restraining herself from getting up and dancing to the song. He guessed that was what she had been doing before he came in. And why the volume was so loud.

"You can get up and dance if you want," Ryu told her, catching her off guard. "I don't mind if you turn up the volume on the TV either."

"Oh, okay…" Sayo nodded her head as answer and debated with herself whether she should take him up on his offer or not.

"You need anything to drink?" Ryu asked as he stood, walking toward the kitchenette.

"Oh, just a bottle of water is fine," Sayo smiled, standing herself and moving away from the coffee table again. She turned up the volume a little bit with the remote and tried to calm herself down. She had danced in front him before, it was no big deal. It was no big deal. She would be fine. So she told herself anyway.

Ryu pulled out two bottles of water and brought them back to the coffee table. He sat down on the couch again and let himself drift into his thoughts. He didn't need to watch her, who knew if he did he might see something neither of them wished to reveal. He chose to avoid a situation of that nature and played it safe. However, should she fall, or potentially be harmed in any way, he would help her out. Whether it be catching her, or putting a band-aid on her, he would do it for her.

About the time half of their water bottles were empty, Sayo managed to knock an old, just about empty bottle of Hayato's that was sitting on the coffee table gathering dust. Ryu saw this and watched her feet. He sat in a position that was easy to get up from, just in case she tripped over it or something. Sayo stopped for a breather once the current song ended and took a long swig of her water. Grabbing another one of Hayato's old bottles, this one empty, Ryu got up to throw it into the trash.

Just after he made it into the kitchenette, another song came on. The mood of this song was something he hadn't wanted anyone to associate with their relationship, had they seen the two alone in the apartment. Especially since they had been up there for so long already. He didn't want anyone to get suspicious. However, he turned around to find Sayo dancing around sexily to the song. Closing his eyes and clenching his fist by his side, he struggled not to look. Why did they have to play Namie Amuro's new song 'Want Me Want Me'? Why did she have to be able to move her body in such a tantalizing way!

It didn't take very long before he heard the sound of the bottle getting kicked around by her feet. Only a matter of time before she tripped on the stupid thing. He kept a close watch on her feet, ready to jump if she began to fall backwards. Hopefully it wouldn't be towards the coffee table, and just toward the door, where nothing would be in her path. He took small steps toward the couch, trying to act casual. Although, it didn't really matter, since she wasn't paying him any mind. Not anymore; she had immersed herself in the music and dancing that she lost all sense of herself and what was around her.

Just as he had foreseen, Sayo tripped on the bottle of water. "Whoa!" she cried as she fell backward toward the door, as he had hoped. Nothing was in the way for her to get injured on. Well, except for the floor… Keeping his eyes focused on her face as she fell, he leaped forward in an attempt to catch her before she hit the floor. Seeing that, if he didn't stop himself quickly, he would land directly on top of her. So he tried to stop himself before it was too late, since she had already landed on the floor with a loud thud. He closed his eyes and put his hands out to try and brace his fall so he, hopefully, wouldn't still land directly on top of her.

His efforts were futile. The two ended up in an awkward position. His legs ended up in between hers. His arm strength was enough to keep him from laying his body on top of hers. Her arms were up by her head on either side of her, his hands in between her arms and her head. Wincing, she shifted her head from it's current position, facing toward the couch, to straight up toward the ceiling. Her eyes fluttered open to see Ryu's face inches from her own. Her eyes glanced down her own body to see his hovering over hers, her legs open with his in between. Her face reddened as she quickly removed her eyes from down below. Then Ryu opened his eyes slowly, seeing her face first. It was beet red.

Suddenly, the door swung open. The light shined through, revealing a shadow in the doorway. Hayato stuck his head past the door, his eyes closed. "Hey, Ryu, how are you two doi-" he had opened his eyes halfway through his question, and everything he wanted to say was erased from his mind. The two on the floor were too shocked by his sudden appearance that they could only stare at him. Sayo's face was still red. He couldn't believe his eyes. There was a small silence before Hayato backed out of the doorway and turned robotically toward the elevators and moved away from the apartment.

Hayato pressed the button for the elevator and knelt down in a corner with his hands on his face. He was coming to realization of what exactly he had thought he saw. His face grew a bit red at the thought. "What were they doing in there…?" He felt himself begin to develop Goosebumps. "I don't even want to know, with that song playing and all…" Hayato stood as he heard the elevator bing, signaling it was on the floor. He entered and tried hard not to think about what he had just witnessed.

Back in the apartment, Ryu and Sayo were trying to grasp just what had happened. Realizing his position over her body, he immediately cleared his throat and got up before she could see the redness forming on his face. He stood with his eyes closed, trying to calm himself a little. Sayo closed her legs and sat up, her face still a deep shade of red. If anything, this would effect her more than him. Or maybe it would be an even share for both. Ryu, being a gentleman, extended his hand toward her in a gesture of assistance. She peered up, seeing his hand close to her, and accepted his offer shyly. He helped her stand and stabilize herself before letting go of her hand.

"Thanks…" she mumbled and quickly moved to sit back down on the couch.

Ryu only shook his head, indicating it was nothing. "I'm going to go check on the clothes…" And he was out the door before she could respond.

* * *

"You won't believe this," Hayato whispered in Saya's ear as he returned to the pool. He didn't want to alarm anyone with what he had seen, but he knew Saya should be the first one to know.

"What? Why are you whispering?" Saya raised one of her eyebrows at him in question. He certainly was acting strange, even for him. And that says a lot there.

"Just, don't freak out, okay?" Hayato warned her before relaying the whole scene to her in a bewildered whisper. Thankfully none of the others were near them. They were all making more noise than Saya preferred to be quite honest. But then again, it was a party, right?

"Okay, what is it?" Saya muttered, giving in to him. She listened to him, just as he asked. As he described what he had seen, her eyes widened in shock. "What?" she turned her head to him only to see him nod. They both wore the same expression. Complete and utter shock. This was something neither of them had expected to happen. Especially not so soon in their relationship. I mean, the two weren't even dating!

Hayato nodded his head endearingly. "I saw it with my own two eyes."

Saya sighed and looked away from him. She'd have to ask Sayo about this. There was no way that Hayato was right about that situation. She was sure there was a logical explanation for their position, and the song. She would corner her cousin before the night's end.

* * *

Ryu stood in front of the dryer unloading the clothes he had put in earlier. Before all that happened with Sayo had happened. Man, he didn't want to believe that Hayato had seen that. That horrific position they had accidentally fallen into. It's not like he meant for it to happen, it just did. He didn't want her to get hurt, so he was there to help if a situation should arise. And a situation had risen. His hand touched a soft, silk-like material, and he quickly realized what he had in it. Without looking down, he tossed the garment into the basket, continuing to unload as if it hadn't happened. Once the last one was out, he shut the door and headed for the elevator. He wasn't in the mood to carry the basket all the way up the stairs.

While waiting, he sighed, knowing Hayato had probably interpreted that scene wrong. Completely wrong. Ryu could only hope that the idiot wouldn't spread it around to the others. Hopefully he was smarter than that. A quick image of Sayo's red face flashed in his mind and he shook his head violently. Not something he needed to remember in public.

The elevator binged, signaling that it was on the floor and the doors opened seconds later. He stepped on and pushed the button for his floor rather hard. Then the doors closed.

Sayo sat on the couch, the events of what had just happened moments ago flashing in her mind. She closed her eyes hard, wishing for them to go away. That was all she wanted. Just go away. Even though it was inevitable, she wished that Ryu wouldn't return. She felt she would be unable to look at him at all after what had happened. It was all just too embarrassing. However, he had her clothes, so she had to face him again. She knew it would only be minutes before he walked through the door with the basket of clothes under his arm.

Ryu returned with the laundry basket under his arm and walked into his room. Before returning to the living room, he placed the basket on the end of his bed. "You can go change if you want," he told her as he came out and headed for the couch.

* * *

Sayo stood immediately, wanting nothing more than to feel the comfort of her bra and panties, and hurried into his room, shutting the door behind her. Sighing heavily, she searched for her bra and panties in the laundry. She found her bikini and hoodie, removing them from the basket. Then she found something she hadn't expected. Ryu's trunks. Holding up the trunks, her face reddened. He had washed his trunks with her clothes too… Quickly, she dropped them back into the basket and tried her hardest to forget she had found them. Deciding she wanted to get out of the apartment, she changed into her bikini instead of her bra and underwear. She had brought it to swim in, it would be a waste if she didn't use it. So, she took off the dress and replaced it with her bikini, and grabbed her towel from the basket, not forgetting to put the rest of her clothes in her bag. Picking up her bag, she left his bedroom with the basket on his bed, and headed for the front door.

Ryu only watched her curiously as she slipped on her flip flops. "I'm going to go down for a swim," she told him and left without another word.

Ryu didn't think much of it and shrugged off her behavior. He found something to watch on the TV. Even though the image of her in her bikini stained his mind. It certainly did look good on her. White with black lining, a red rose design with a black and white butterfly behind it on the left side of the top, the same one on the front of the bottoms. One the backside of the bottoms, it said "NIPPON" in black and white block letters, western-style, and a skull wearing a white top hat with a blue band. The red roses and butterfly were present as well. (Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = SayoSwim01 .jpg )

* * *

Sayo was let into the pool area by Hayato again and immediately made her way to the deep end of the pool. Saya watched in curiosity. What was she up to? Hayato got back into the pool and waded his way next to Saya again. The others were all in the deep end playing Marco Polo, and didn't really notice Sayo's disturbed expression. Sayo stood at the edge of the pool and positioned herself to dive in. Even though the signs on the fences clearly said 'No Diving'. Closing her eyes, Sayo pushed off the edge with a bend of her knees and dove into the pool flawlessly. No wonder she had been on the swim team in high school. She was underwater for almost the entire length of the pool before she had to come up for air. After that, she continued swimming by making laps down the length of the pool.

"I doubt that your interpretation of their situation was right," Saya said to Hayato after seeing Sayo swim the laps.

"Why do you say that?" He eyed her with an eyebrow cocked.

"Because, if you were right, she'd probably still be up there with him right now," Saya told him in a matter of fact way. "It was probably some kind of accident."

"Hmm, maybe you're right," Hayato shrugged, sinking into the water a bit.

Saya smirked at the opening. "Don't you know I'm always right?"

"Don't get cocky," Hayato muttered, knowing he left himself open for that one.

"Oh, me? Cocky?" Saya looked at him skeptically.

He said nothing back to her, only looked up at her with his brows raised.

"As if," Saya shook her head and turned her gaze to the seven in the deep end, still playing their game.

"Whatever," Hayato sunk down into the water, staying under for a few seconds. Saya began to count as soon as his head went under. He came back up with a gasp.

"Wow, you suck," Saya chuckled at him. "You weren't even under for half a minute."

"Let's see you do better," Hayato challenged her. Of course, he didn't know she had been on the swim team while at Momogaoka. He was going to be surprised.

"Okay," Saya shrugged, closing her eyes and plugging her nose as she sunk under the water, sitting on the floor of the pool.

Hayato looked down at the water, counting in his head, amazed that she was sitting on the bottom of the pool. He knew at that second that he was going to lose this challenge, there was just no way. She began to rise after he passed sixty seconds. Just over a minute and she was out of the water, breathing steadily.

"So?" she grinned at him, seeing his shocked face.

"Just over a minute…" he mumbled, not wanting to admit he lost to a girl.

"Hm, so who's cocky?" she had him now.

"I am," he grumbled, his lips forming a straight line on his face.

"Told you," she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on the edge of the pool.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he closed his eyes, hating the taste of defeat in his mouth.

"If it was an accident, I'll let you know later after I ask her about it, okay?" Saya changed her tone, seeing Sayo was still doing laps.

"Sure," Hayato nodded his head, knowing they were done with that little tiff.

"They really are having fun over there, huh?" Saya chuckled a little, seeing that the others were still playing Marco Polo.

"I guess so," Hayato smirked, seeing them all swimming away from Hyuga like he was the plague.

* * *

Hours passed by without them realizing a thing. It was beginning to get dark, twilight was setting in. Sayo finally stopped doing laps as she saw the sky changing colors. Everyone was getting out of the pool and drying off. Maki and Take had made plans to go have dinner out together. Kiri was invited over to Tsuchi's dorm for dinner, he was cooking. Hyuga offered to help Mitsu return her parents' cooler and take her out to dinner afterwards. Mitsu agreed to his company. Saya reassured Hayato she would let him know about the situation later. Everyone took the leftovers with them. Sayo let Ryu and Hayato have the rest of the onigiri that were leftover. Hayato was really excited. The girls piled into the bathroom to shower and change. Sayo couldn't believe that this was her second shower in one day.

Saya and Sayo were the only two left when they exited the bathroom. Not that they were surprised in any way. The two girls left the apartment complex, bags slung over their shoulders.

"I heard from Hayato-kun about earlier," Saya started cautiously, not wanting to jump right into it, but found no other way to start the conversation.

Sayo inhaled sharply. "Yeah, I kind of wish he hadn't seen that, it was so embarrassing…" she muttered, her face reddening at the thought of the position.

"What happened?" Saya asked, seeing the red on her cousin's face.

"Well, I was dancing around in the living room," Sayo started, closing her eyes. "I knocked over a bottle of water, tripped on it, and fell backwards."

"Hmm," Saya nodded her head, taking in the information. So it was an accident after all.

"I guess Ryu-kun was trying to catch me before I hit the ground, but he landed on top of me," Sayo sighed, vividly remembering the feel of his weight over her body, his pant legs barely tickling her own bare ones. "Then Yabuki-kun walked through the door."

"Oh, so he just mistook the situation," Saya nodded her head, understanding now why Sayo had said embarrassing.

"Yeah, he turned around really quick and walked away," Sayo tried to make fun of the situation, but found herself having a hard time doing so. It wasn't that funny.

"He thought you two were doing something," Saya told her quietly, not wanting to alarm her in any way.

"Oh, we wouldn't," Sayo shook her fervently. "I mean, it may look like, or seem like the perfect situation, but not now…"

"I know," Saya smiled, knowing what her cousin was getting at. "I told him he was wrong about it."

Sayo only sighed again, feeling tired suddenly. "Man, what a day…"

"Yeah, no kidding," Saya nodded, agreeing fully.

"Hey, don't tell my mom about that accident today, okay?" Sayo stared at the ground as they walked.

"Sure, but why?" Saya didn't quite understand what Sayo was getting at.

"Mom may not care as much as dad about me being at a guy's house, alone with him, but she'd care a hell of a lot more if she knew I was in there without any underwear on…" Sayo explained in a low voice, so no one around them could hear her. "She'd kill me for sure."

"Oh, right," Saya nodded her head, not wanting to think about the consequences of a parent finding out about that, feeling the fear Sayo felt.

"Promise?" Sayo held up her pinky finger.

"Promise," Saya smiled softly at her cousin as they pinky swore that they wouldn't breathe a word to the parents. Because if one of them knew, just one, they'd all know before you breathe in a new day.

* * *

Hayato lounged on the couch. Ryu was already in his room, studying for the next day's class. How did he know this was coming? After that situation earlier today, he knew it was set in stone that Ryu was going to bury himself in his studies and books for the next month. How could one forget about such a situation so easily? No one could. That's why Ryu was going to attempt to force himself to forget about it. At least temporarily. Not that Hayato blamed him. If it was just an accident, and he was in the same place as Ryu was at that moment with Saya, he'd probably want to forget about it too. So he lounged there on the couch, flipping through the channels, waiting for Saya to call him with news about the situation.

He stopped at the music station, since his phone was ringing and that was the next channel. He reached out for his phone and flipped it open, figuring it was Saya. "Hello?"

"Hey, so it was just an accident earlier," Saya told him with a chuckle through the speaker.

"Oh, so what happened?" He asked, a sudden feeling of awkwardness flooding him as the song from earlier spilled out through the TV speakers. His eye twitched just a bit.

"Well, she was dancing around, tripped on a water bottle, and he tried to catch her," Saya explained simply, knowing he was probably watching something, barely hearing the song through the phone. "I guess he was too late and landed on top of her."

"Oh thank god it was only that," Hayato sighed in relief. He had been freaking himself out since he saw them earlier about what he had walked in on. Now he knew that it was nothing.

"Yeah," Saya chuckled a little.

Hayato suddenly felt like teasing her again. "I wonder if we'll ever end up in a position like that," he mumbled, a seductive tone to his voice, and smirk creeping onto his face.

"What!" Saya sounded a little caught off guard and outraged that he would even suggest such a thing.

"Sure, why not?" his smirk grew little wider, hearing her voice. He could imagine her face at the moment. The blush creeping onto her cheeks, eyes wide in shock, and mouth open as she tried to word a comeback.

"Let's just not talk about that, okay?" Saya tried to change the subject.

"Aw, but we would look so good together," Hayato almost couldn't believe what he was saying. He hadn't even told her how he felt about her, yet he was telling her they would look good together. What the hell?

"I'm hanging up now," Saya threatened, making him aware that she wasn't enjoying this joke at all.

"Oh, don't be like that," Hayato sighed, knowing he had taken it too far again. He closed his eyes, cursing himself for being so impulsive when it came to her.

"Why?" she sounded irritated. He could hear her arms cross over her chest in his mind, visually playing out this conversation.

"I was just joking," Hayato said truthfully.

"Well, it wasn't that funny," now she sounded hurt.

"Sorry," he mumbled, feeling really bad about it.

"See you later," Saya told him, hanging up before he could say the same.

"Yeah, see you later…" he brought the beeping phone away from his ear, feeling guilty about her mad at him now. "Of course she'd be mad, I went too far…" he told himself and stood from the couch.

* * *

"Who the hell does he think he is!" Saya huffed after she hung up, his picture still on her phone. She kept it flipped open, imaging she was cussing him out. She sighed heavily, her face still red as she replayed what he had said to her in her head. They'd look good together. What if they did end up in that position one day? He'd probably take advantage of being on top and kiss her seriously. She'd have no way of escape. Just thinking about it made her stomach turn into a meadow full of butterflies. She gripped her phone hard and decided she should go to bed. It was getting pretty late.

* * *

Ryu sat on his bed, trying to sleep. It was no good. His mind kept flashing the image of her red face under his own. He hadn't said anything to her since then, but he couldn't find the words he should say. He figured they wouldn't see each other for a while after this anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Right?

However, he didn't want to have more weird feelings when being around her. He already had enough of those to begin with. He didn't need anymore. He knew in the back of his mind that he should try to sort out his feelings toward her, but he never actually tried. Debating it in his head while trying to sleep seemed like a perfect solution, nothing to distract him there in his room late at night.

All right, first things first. What was it that he felt when she was dancing to that song? He had thought she was tantalizing. That could only mean one thing, then. This one was an easy one, though. He came to a conclusion. When she moved her body like that, it turned him on. He loved it and hated it at the same time. He didn't need to be turned on by her body, but it was an involuntary reaction to seeing her. Maybe the song had played a part in amplifying the emotion. Or maybe it was the fact that he knew she didn't have any under garments on.

Second thing. Why didn't he want to look at her, knowing she didn't have her under garments on? Was it him being polite? Or was he too embarrassed to look at her like that? Did he think he would only stare at her? Possibly, a mix of all three questions. Okay, maybe this shouldn't have been the second thing he was to dwell on…

Third thing. If he truly did have feelings for her, why didn't he take advantage of the situation? Well, he was just simply not that kind of guy, for starters. He figured that the only thing that really held him back was that he wasn't sure of his feelings. It's not like he'd ever been in love before. As far as he knew, he could hate someone with all of his being and still love them at the same time. His father was a prime example of that. However, that was familial love, and therefore, was completely different from loving a woman.

Too much strain, he had to sleep.

* * *

Sayo was sprawled out on her bed, staring up at her ceiling in her bedroom at home. Ryu's bedroom ceiling was white too. The feeling of his pant legs tickling her bare legs was still quite persistent in her mind, making her stomach turn in circles. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily. What was she going to do? She couldn't stop the images in her head. As much as she wanted them to stop, they wouldn't. It made it hard for her to fall asleep. She whimpered to herself, curling up on her bed and shifting onto her side.

What was it about him that got to her? She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She knew he did something to her. But she had no idea why. Maybe it was the way he treated her. Maybe it was his face. His beautiful, solemn face with those dark chocolate brown eyes. It could be the way his hair framed his face. Or maybe it was the way he moved, carried himself about. She had never been sure, but since the first day she saw him, she had felt a strange, indescribable feeling. As much as she wanted to name the feeling, she could not.

Maybe it was only because she was just inexperienced. She didn't know. Perhaps she would know one of these days, but for now, she could only ponder on the feeling.


	25. Chapter 19

_A/N: Shorter chapter, kind of a filler. Next one will be more exciting, promise. The restaurant mentioned here is real... Izakaya is traditional Japanese food... Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 19: Blind Date!**

An entire month passed by in the blink of an eye. Saya hadn't heard much from Sayo, only knowing that she and Yoshida were participating in more competitions as December neared. Saya had been so buried by her studies that she was unable to have much fun lately. Mitsu was the same, and was completely miserable since she had to work on top of study. Kiri and Maki were also super busy with studying and work. None of the girls had talked to the guys since the pool party. Juri too was having a hard time keeping her nose in a book lately. Sayo was the only one who wasn't studying her butt off.

Ryu wasn't effected by the amount of studying his classes required lately. He was used to stuffing his nose in a book ever since high school was over that it ceased to bother him anymore. Hayato found it annoying since Ryu was always cooped up in his room. He had no one to talk to, which made him feel alone. Hyuga was working diligently as Kojima's apprentice, and enjoyed seeing Yoshida and Sayo perform at night. Tsuchi and Take were too busy studying like the rest of them to be bothered.

* * *

Sayo was walking around the shopping street one afternoon, searching for some new skirts to wear for dance practice. Yoshida was busy trying to find costumes that suited their next competition and wanted it to be a surprise for her, like he always did. She was used to it by now, though.

Walking out of the store she had just finished checking out, she bumped into someone by accident. "Oh, I'm so sorry," she apologized with a bow.

"Oh, no it's okay, I wasn't really paying much attention to where I was going," the guy responded, sounding a bit embarrassed, and familiar.

Sayo lifted her body up and took a long look at the guy. "Ah! Misawa-kun!"

"Eh?" Misawa opened his eyes curiously, to see just who exactly had bumped into him. "Ah, Tsukioka-chan."

"It's been a while," she smiled at him, patting his arm. "I thought I told you to call me Sayo-chan?"

"Ah, yes," he nodded his head shyly, rubbing the back of it. "It has been a while."

"How've you been?" she motioned for him to move out of the pathway so they weren't creating traffic on the sidewalk.

"I've been doing all right, working and studying," he smiled broadly, looking comfortable now.

"That's good," Sayo smiled. She was happy that he went on to college. He was a smart guy when he put his mind to things.

"What about you?" he turned the tables, looking straight at Sayo with curious eyes.

"Oh, I've become a professional dancer," she smiled, looking out at the street, a few cars passing by. It was after lunch time, so not very many people were out and about right now.

"Wow, that's amazing," he looked impressed, eyes sparkling.

Sayo could only chuckle at the look on his face. She felt like she was looking at a child who just saw Yatterman or something of the like. A crooked smile spread across her lips as she remembered how shy he used to be around her.

"I'm glad you found something you like to do," he told her, a kind smile filling his face. It reached his eyes, telling her he was being genuine with her.

"Thanks," she smiled back, closing her eyes. His manners almost reminded her of Juri. Her eyes shot open as she got an idea. "Hey, do you have a girlfriend now?"

"That was sudden…" Misawa looked taken aback by the rapid change of subject, but complied to answering her. It was his curiosity taking over. "No, I don't."

"What would you say to a blind date?" she questioned, the mischief and excitement glowing brightly in her eyes. She gripped her seat as she waited for his answer to her question.

"Omiai?" Misawa cocked an eyebrow up at her in question.

"Not an omiai, just a date with a girl you've never met before," she shook her head, figuring he would take it that way. "It's not like you're gonna marry her."

"Yeah, too young for marriage yet," he chuckled, feeling embarrassed by his thoughts. "But, sure, a blind date would be okay, I guess."

"All right," Sayo nodded her head, trying to think of how she should proceed in setting this up. "Hey, let me have your number so I can contact you."

"Oh, sure," Misawa got out his cell phone and handed it to her. She accepted it, inputting her information into his system, then called her own phone to get his number.

"Thanks," she handed his phone back to him. "I'll let you know about the date after I talk to her."

"What's her name?" the two of them got ready to part ways for now.

"Kitano, Juri-chan," Sayo smiled, knowing that they would be perfect together. He was just what Juri had been looking for in a guy. It was a shame that Juri had never met him while she was dating him during high school. She honestly hadn't thought about it until now.

"Sounds cute," he smiled, turning around to continue on his way.

"I'll see you later then," she called to him. He only waved to her as he kept on walking. Sayo sighed, thinking of a good place for the two to have their first date. Maybe Yoshida would be able to help her figure that out. Reminding herself of the skirt she was looking for, she continued to search around the shopping street until she found the perfect one.

* * *

Later that night, Juri got a phone call from Sayo. There was a lot of noise in the background. She figured she was at the Dream Star, working. "Hello? Sayo-chan?" she answered, her roommates peering at her curiously.

"Hey, Juri-chan, what would say if I told you that I had a blind date for you?" Sayo asked, sounding like she was quite pleased with herself.

"A blind date? Like an omiai?" Juri cocked her eyebrow in confusion, reacting the same way Misawa had.

Sayo only laughed. "No, not an omiai," Sayo said in between her laughter. "He said the same thing…" she mumbled, even though Juri could hear her.

"Okay…" Juri was getting a little more confused than she should have.

"Just a date with someone you've never met before," Sayo explained simply.

"Oh, I guess I could go," Juri shrugged her shoulders, knowing her nosy roommates were listening and hanging on to every word she was saying.

"Good, because I really do have one for you," Juri could hear the smirk on Sayo's face.

"Oh, well, that's unexpected," Juri blinked. "With who?"

"Misawa, Hiro-kun," Sayo answered, waiting for Juri to recognize the name.

"Oh, the one guy you were dating at the end of high school," Juri nodded her head, finally understanding. "I never actually did get a chance to meet him."

"So now you can," Sayo told her. "Just come to Kyobashi Megumi-ya on Tuesday next week, okay?"

"Okay, that's in Ginza, right?" Juri asked just to make sure she was thinking of the same place.

"Yeah, that's the one," Sayo answered.

"Okay, Tuesday at Kyobashi," Juri found a piece of paper and pen to write it down on, or else she'd probably forget. Next Tuesday was the beginning of October. Sayo only had two more months until she left for America.

"Right, I'll be there in the beginning to introduce you to each other, then I'll be out of the way," Sayo joked, but was also quite serious.

"Alright, I'll see you next Tuesday, then," Juri smiled, having written everything she needed to know.

"Good, I've gotta get back on stage before Yoshida-kun yells at me again," Sayo spoke quickly. "See you."

"Mm, see you," Juri smiled, hanging up the phone. She had a date. Her! A date! She could hardly believe it.

"So, what are you doing next Tuesday?" Fuyumi muttered next to Juri.

"Ah!" Juri hadn't been expecting her to be right there, so she was quite startled.

"Well?" Mizuki showed up on her other side.

"Uh, I have a blind date," Juri spoke softly, reddening. She had never had a blind date before.

"Oh?" Fuyumi reeled, almost squealing.

"A blind date?" Mizuki had stars in her eyes.

"Yeah, with my friend's ex-boyfriend," Juri nodded, still red in the face.

"Wow, talk about a hand-me-down," Fuyumi calmed down hearing that bit.

"Well, they weren't really dating," Juri tried to explain. "They only ever held hands in the two months that they were supposedly dating."

"That's weird, didn't she like him?" Mizuki had crashed back down to earth as well.

"Well, they were better off as friends," Juri shrugged her shoulders simply.

"Hmm," the two girls nodded their heads, losing interest in the conversation and walking away.

* * *

"You did what?" Saya questioned over the phone.

"Yeah, I set Juri and Misawa-kun up on a blind date," Sayo nodded her head, feeling confident about this set up.

"I can't believe you did that," Saya sounded incredulous, but knew Sayo enjoyed doing things like this.

"Hey, they would make a good pair, and you know it," Sayo chastised her cousin. "I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner, though…"

"Honestly Sayo," Saya sighed. It was obvious that she was exhausted from studying so much lately.

"Yeah, I know, I'm a genius," Sayo joked.

"Sayo!"

Sayo could only laugh at her cousin's little outburst. She had to admit, it was a good idea to get those two together. After all, if they weren't introduced, they would probably never meet each other on their own. It was up to Sayo to make it happen.

"I give up," Saya sighed, knowing that Sayo was right.

"I'm pretty sure that they'll like each other," Sayo reassured her cousin. Saya did know Misawa, so she knew what Juri was in for. More than likely the boy would be shy at first. Then again, Juri would be too.

"Yeah, they'll just have to get to know each other first," Saya agreed.

"I got them a reservation for next Tuesday at Kyobashi Megumi-ya in Ginza," Sayo informed her cousin.

"Oh, izakaya, huh?" Sayo could hear the smirk on her cousin's face.

"Yeah, figured it was the safest route, you know?" Sayo nodded her head.

"Yeah, good choice," Saya agreed. The two sat on the phone in silence for a minute or so before Saya spoke up again. "Only two months before you leave, getting nervous yet?"

"Who me? Nervous?" Sayo grinned, trying to make light of her situation. She was leaving the country. She wouldn't be able to see her family and friends for a while.

"Yeah you," Saya replied. "Are you going to at least see Odagiri beforehand?"

"I…" Sayo found herself struggling to decide. After what happened last month, she wasn't sure if she wanted to chance another event like that happening again. "I don't know."

"You should," Saya told her cousin flat out. It was the best thing she could do for now.

"But, what if…" Sayo stopped herself from finishing her sentence.

"What if what?" Saya asked, a knowing air to her voice.

"Nothing," Sayo shook her head, even though Saya couldn't see her.

"It's something, Sayo," Saya said simply. "It's never nothing."

"Well, it's nothing this time, okay?" Sayo felt anger rising in her. She didn't want to have a conversation like this with her now.

"Okay, see you later, then," Saya resigned.

"Yeah, see you later," Sayo hung up after saying her farewell to her cousin and flopped down on her bed with an exhausted sigh.

* * *

Before they knew it, it was the first Tuesday of October. The day of Juri and Misawa's blind date had finally come. Sayo made sure she was there on time, before the two of them showed up at the restaurant. She stood outside the front doors waiting for them. Juri was the first one to show up.

"Ah, Juri-chan," Sayo smiled warmly at her friend, hugging her lightly. "Are you ready for this?"

"I think I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Juri chuckled, feeling as if that were the actual truth. She was quite nervous about this. She hadn't been on a date in years.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Sayo reassured her, letting her go.

Juri stood next to Sayo in her elegant, yet casual, white flowing blouse, with quarter length sleeves. Her legs were mostly covered by navy blue capris. Her feet were squished into white pumps. She looked quite adorable. It gave her an innocent air. (Link: http:/ s718. Photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = JuriCapris2 .jpg )

A few minutes later, Misawa came into Sayo's field of vision. "There he is," she smiled, waving at him a little to get his attention. Juri leaned forward a little to see him.

Misawa walked down the street in a black blazer over a black v-neck shirt. He had on a black belt to hold up his denim jeans. Converse were on his feet. He had to keep it casual somehow. He looked good nonetheless. Sayo almost marveled at the sight. He certainly didn't look like he had in high school. He'd straightened out a lot. He even looked a lot different from when she had seen him the previous week.(Link: http:/ media. photobucket. com/ image/ Mizushima % 20hiro/ sonna212/ Mizushima % 20Hiro/ a06ef3212284a0_full .jpg ?o = 561 )

"Hey Misawa-kun," Sayo greeted him once he was next to her, glancing at Juri. "This is Kitano, Juri-chan."

"Nice to meet you," he bowed to Juri politely. She bowed back with a small, timid smile. This guy used to be in Kurogin's class 3-D? She could hardly believe it.

"Juri-chan, this is Misawa, Hiro-kun," Sayo introduced.

This time it was Juri's turn to bow to him. "Nice to meet you."

"Well, the two of you have a reservation here, so go have a nice dinner and get to know each other," Sayo informed them, one of her hands on one of each of their shoulders, guiding them inside.

The two entered the establishment without Sayo tagging along behind them.

"Welcome," the hostess greeted them as they approached her. "How can I help you?"

"We have a reservation for two," Hiro answered the hostess's question.

"Under what name?" she flipped open the book for reservations on her pedestal to today's date.

"Either Kitano or Misawa," Hiro answered, not sure which name Sayo had used to make the reservation.

The hostess searched through the list for one of the two names. "Kitano, Juri-san and guest?" she looked up from the book.

"Yes, that's us," Juri nodded her head from behind Misawa.

"All right, please follow me to your table," the hostess grabbed two menus and lead them inside the restaurant. The two followed, looking around the restaurant. "Here we are," the hostess stopped at a table in the back, away from other people, that had a candle in the middle of the table and a wine glass filled with water at each place setting. "Have you dined with us before?" the hostess asked, placing a menu on either side.

"No," both of them shook their heads, sitting on opposite sides of the table, across from each other.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your first experience with us, your server will be with you in just a moment," the hostess bowed to them, then turned on her heel and walked back to the front.

* * *

Sayo stretched her arms up into the air. She and Yoshida had just finished their practice for the night. She had surprised him when she showed up in the new skirt she had found. He reassured her that the search for their next costume was coming along very well.

"You know," Sayo smiled as she stood in front of the large window, looking out at the nightlife and the city lights. "I set up a date for my friend and my ex-boyfriend today."

"Eh?" Yoshida was surprised to hear this. Of course, he wasn't surprised about the ex-boyfriend part. He was surprised she had set them up to go on a date. He walked over to stand next to her silently. He glanced over to see her face, seeing a soft smile. "Do you regret it?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head, humming her answer. "I don't regret it at all."

"Eh…" he nodded his head, feeling like she had more to say about it.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that I made the right choice in setting the two up," Sayo admitted truthfully. Misawa wasn't the best for her, but he was more than likely the best for Juri. "They suit each other."

"Is that so…" he continued nodding his head, understanding what she was saying. "Well, I hope you hear good news from them."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

* * *

After finishing their food, Misawa and Juri paid for their meals and left the restaurant in search of a place to sit and talk. Even though they were away from other people in the restaurant, it still didn't seem very private, so they decided together that they would talk afterwards. They found that it was late enough for the park to be empty, so they sat on a bench together in the night air. Neither knew of a subject to start a conversation with, so they sat on the bench in silence, watching the people pass by. They saw three children playing together by the fountain, running around it in circles. One was obviously 'it', and was trying to touch one of the other two. Juri could only smile, remembering how the girls at her elementary school would play this game as well. Misawa also remembered playing the same game during his childhood, although, he was usually the one who was 'it'.

"You guys, that's not fair," the child who was chasing the other two stopped running and began complaining. "I've been it this whole time, it's your turn!"

"You have to tag one of us first!" the other two children taunted, still running from the third one.

"That's not fair!"

"That's the rules of the game!"

"Then I quit!" the child stormed off in a rage, angry at his friends for not playing fairly.

"Wait," the two stopped in their tracks and turned around. They only watched as the young boy headed out of the park.

"That poor boy," Juri commented after witnessing the children play. "Those two were being very unfair indeed."

"Yeah," Misawa nodded his head, agreeing with his companion. "I've been treated like that before…"

"Really?" Juri turned her head to Misawa, finding a blank, distant stare out at nothing in particular.

"Yeah," he nodded his head absently. "I was kind of a coward when I was a kid."

"But that doesn't mean you should be treated like that," Juri shook her head. She disliked when people bullied others for fun. No one person should have such control over another person like that. Its just inhumane.

"Some people think they can take advantage of the weak," Misawa mumbled, as if the topic brought back bitter memories. "That's why I changed to prove them wrong."

"Change is good," Juri smiled, watching the two children finally continue after their friend.

"Yeah," Misawa sighed, sitting up straight. "So, Kitano-san, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Oh, I have two sisters," Juri smiled warmly, picturing the two in her head. "One is younger, the other is older."

"Oh, cool," Misawa nodded his head with a smile.

"Do you have any siblings Misawa-kun?" Juri inquired with a smile.

"Ah, no, it's just me," Misawa shook his head. "Though there have been times when I wished I did have a brother or sister…"

"I think just about every only-child goes through that stage at one point in time," Juri smiled, knowing she had felt the opposite when she was younger.

"Yeah, probably," Misawa chuckled, knowing that she spoke the truth.

"So Misawa-kun, are you attending a university?" Juri inquired, switching subjects casually.

"Well, I'm actually going to a technical school," Misawa rubbed the back of his head. "I didn't have the grades to get into a university…"

"Oh, a technical school is just as good, believe me," Juri reassured him. "I almost went to one instead of the girl's college I'm at right now."

"Oh, wow, for what?" Misawa was getting curious now.

"I want to be a masseuse," Juri answered with a cheerful smile. "My parents and sisters have told me a lot that I give really good massages."

"Wow, that's nice," Misawa nodded his head. "I plan to become a web designer after school."

"Oh wow, maybe you could create my website for me," Juri joked.

"Maybe," Misawa nodded his head as they both laughed.

The two sat together and chatted for a few more hours before they decided it was too late to be out anymore. Misawa walked Juri to the station, where, once they had exchanged contact information, they parted once he knew she would be safe on her way home. Then he turned around to make his way home for the night. He felt quite pleased about getting to know Juri, and was glad Sayo set them up. He was quite interested in Juri, and really didn't want to lose touch with her.

* * *

Sayo found herself laying on Saya's couch in her cousin's shared dorm, her legs across Saya's lap. "Ne, Saya."

"Yeah Sayo?" Saya inquired lightly, preoccupied with the program on the television.

"What do you think it would be like if we hadn't met the guys until after high school?"

"…" Saya had to think about the question before she answered. She honestly had never thought about it before. "I guess, it would be a little more relaxed, since we wouldn't have seen them beaten up."

"Hmm," Sayo nodded her head as best as she could.

"Sayo, why are thinking about that kind of thing?" Mitsu asked from the kitchenette. She was busy preparing a snack for herself.

"No reason, really," Sayo replied truthfully. "I was just thinking…"

"Yeah, it probably would be different, but we probably would've ended up with the same guys anyways," Mitsu shrugged her shoulders, giving her two cents in the whole conversation.

"Hmm," Saya nodded, knowing what Mitsu meant in all reality. Sayo would probably end up having feelings for Odagiri still. And she herself would probably still like Hayato.

"Whatever," Sayo shrugged her own shoulders. "I was just saying what if…" she muttered, eyeing the television.

"Well, if we hadn't met them in high school, it would probably have been anytime after Maki and Takeda-kun started actually dating," Saya reasoned, thinking more on the subject.

"Probably would've been one by one, too," Sayo added in, following her cousin's train of thought.

"Yeah," Saya agreed, nodding her head.

"All right, I am ready to enjoy the show with my little snack!" Mitsu declared, making her way over to the couch to plop down in front of it.

"Too bad, it's almost over now," Saya tried so hard to suppress the smirk that wanted to surface on her face.

"What!"

* * *

Hayato and Ryu sat in their living room, watching television and drinking soda. It was a bit late, Hayato had just returned home from working all afternoon, dealing with women. Ryu was glad he didn't have work that night. Ever since the pool party, and the events that ensued that day, he had been seeing Sayo in his dreams a lot. He knew what the dreams were pointing to, but he refused to acknowledge that aspect of his life at the moment. And he knew Hayato was absolutely the wrong person to confide in with this information. Take was much better suited for this, but was quite out of reach right now. With this information, Hayato would run wild, tease him, and interpret the dreams in a completely wrong sense, as he had before. Ryu wished not to go through that conversation again. However, on this night, nothing of that sort was plowing through his head. In fact, he had been contemplating what their lives would have been like if they had met the girls after high school, except for Maki-chan.

"You're not reading tonight," Hayato observed as the commercial played on the television.

"No," Ryu replied simply, keeping his eyes on the television.

"You thinking about something?" Hayato returned his attention to the television, asking the question absently and not expecting a straight answer from his friend.

"Yeah," Ryu answered truthfully before he could stop himself. He received a surprised look from Hayato.

"What is it?"

"I was just wondering," Ryu paused to word the sentence in his mind before saying something stupid. "What it would be like if we hadn't met the girls until after high school."

"Hmm, good question," Hayato nodded his head and stared blankly at the ceiling. He was obviously thinking hard about what Ryu had said. "Who knows…"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ryu nodded his head as Hayato moved his attention to the television again.

"Oh, there is no way that anyone could make their body into that shape…" Hayato muttered, observing as the contestants on the game show tried to form their bodies to cut out holes in a styrofoam wall.

Ryu continued to ponder the subject, not paying attention to the game show on the television. It was truly something to wonder about. And maybe, just maybe, he'd see a dream about it one of these days.


	26. Chapter 20

_A/N: Okay, so when I was in school, I took a creative writing class. One of our assignments was to write a small five page screen play. This is basically a modified, extended version of the original one I wrote while in school. It was really fun and I hope you enjoy it._

* * *

**Chapter 20: Dreaming Of You**

Shirokin Park was populated with students and teachers alike, making their way to school before they were late. The students spoke in loud voices. Ryu wondered how they could have such energy so early in the morning. He was sitting on the edge of the fountain, attempting to read his book for class. However, he couldn't concentrate with all the loud chatter of the students.

'_Annoying loud people,' _Ryu seethed in his head, not wanting to voice his thoughts. _'No matter where I go, I can't concentrate…' _Ryu closed his eyes. He was starting to feel a little bit of stress come on. _'At home, there's stupid Hayato, always being loud,' _he opened his eyes again after that thought. _'And out here, stupid loud high school kids…' _he silently glared at the culprits around him, not even noticing him sitting there.

As time passed, the high school kids were no longer present, nor were their teachers, as it was now time for high school to begin. He was sporting a black biker jacket over a t-shirt, worn blue jeans, the usual boots, and his skull ring. Any young woman, or older woman, who had passed silently by him, and actually noticed him, had stared to marvel at his looks. He didn't notice them much, as they were silent, and he was concentrating on his book. Not thirty minutes later, a group of young women were walking by him, chatting lowly. His eyebrow twitched at the disturbance. He noted that their voices weren't close to him, so he peered up from his book without moving his head to see the women. Some meters away, he saw a young woman of average height standing directly in front of him. Her long brown layered hair came down to the middle of her back. He could tell she had on a black long sleeved shirt, a frayed denim mini skirt, and high-top canvas sneakers.

* * *

Sayo was with the other girls, walking through the park as they were discussing Sayo's latest break up.

"I can't believe you actually said that to him," Juri marveled at Sayo's boldness, a skeptical expression on her face.

"Yeah, really," Maki, standing next to Juri, agreed.

"Hey, check out the hottie sitting at the fountain," Kiri whispered, standing opposite of the other two, while leaning in toward the middle of the group. Five of them peered over at Ryu with curious eyes. The only one who didn't turn around was the one standing in front of him, Sayo.

'_Geez, these girls…' _Sayo thought with a chuckle.

* * *

'_I can hear you…' _Ryu thought to himself, irritated by the girl's whispering.

* * *

"Quit that, it's rude to stare at people," Sayo chastised the girls, a disapproving look on her face. Their eyes had lingered for too long.

The girls all snickered while they pried their eyes from him to peer at Sayo. Kiri, Saya and Mitsu were secretly eyeing him still.

"Honestly, you girls are so terrible," Sayo half-joked about their behavior, shaking her head at them with her eyes closed.

* * *

'_At least she has some sense of decency…' _Ryu thought to himself, hearing Sayo's comment about her friends. Girls like that were definitely good ones in his book.

* * *

"Why are you being so goody-goody?" Kiri nudged Sayo's sides playfully, wiggling her eyebrows at her friend.

"What, do you know that guy, Sayo-chan?" Maki asked in a teasing manner.

"Not that I know of, but that doesn't mean anything," Sayo answered, shrugging first. The other girls were still sneaking looks over at him.

* * *

'_Sayo-chan? I think I've heard that name before…' _Ryu thought hard, trying to remember. A single memory came to mind. It was the night he and Hayato had helped Minoru home after they found his wallet, and discovered Yankumi's secret background.

"Geez, first Ayu-chan and Mayu-chan come over with Saya-chan and Sayo-chan," Yankumi complained in a low tone, but the two boys could hear her fine. "And now you two show up, I don't think I can handle much more of this…"

That was it! Yankumi knew a girl named Sayo-chan. Apparently Sayo-chan and Saya-chan had showed up unexpectedly with their mothers the night before. 'Ayu-chan' had ran into her a couple days before the women showed up at the Oedo home.

Ryu lifted his head from his book to see the group of young women.

* * *

Sayo turned around to take a quick look at this 'hottie' the girls were talking about. She turned halfway, taking one step backwards, revealing to Ryu her sleeveless navy blue hoodie, and an elaborate dragon graphic on the front of her shirt. Their eyes met. Sayo felt her eyes widen as she gazed at him. His face registered in her mind. She had seen this guy somewhere before.

Suddenly, she remembered. The day she broke up with Misawa, she had seen him standing by the gates of Kurogin Gakuen. She had never really spoke to him, nor seen him again after that. But his face was unmistakable. She swallowed hard, realizing he was staring at her as well. Blinking a few times, she tore her gaze away from him and turned back around to face the girls.

"What?" Juri questioned, seeing that Sayo was baffled.

"What is it Sayo?" Saya, also noticing the change in Sayo's behavior, questioned with a small hint of concern laced in her voice.

"Nope, I don't know him," Sayo answered, trying to ignore his stare burning a hole in her back.

* * *

Impulse taking over, Ryu stood from the fountain edge, closed his book on his finger to keep his place, and advanced toward the group of young women. The other girls noticed him coming toward them. After seeing her face, he had to at least introduce himself to her. Why would he let a beautiful woman with her head on her shoulders right get away so easily?

"Excuse me…"

Sayo heard the voice behind her and turned around swiftly. He was unexpectedly close to her. "Uh, yes?"

Before Ryu said anything more, he glanced behind the young woman before him to see Maki-chan standing adjacent to her. "Ah, Maki-chan."

"Ah, you're Takeda-kun's friend, right?" Maki smiled, and the other young women looked over at her curiously.

"Yeah," Ryu nodded his head, reminding himself mentally of why he was over here in the first place.

"It's nice to see you, these are my friends," Maki motioned to the other girls around her.

"Nice to meet you, Odagiri Ryu desu," Ryu bowed his head a little.

* * *

"Maki-chan, you know this guy?" Kiri questioned curiously. All the other girls wanted to know as well.

"Well, I don't know him, we're more like acquaintances," Maki answered, feeling a bit of pressure on her. "Odagiri-kun, this is Sayo-chan," Maki held her hand out toward Sayo.

"Ah, nice to meet you, Tsukioka Sayo desu," Sayo introduced herself, feeling a bit of embarrassment coming over her. She bowed her head a little as Ryu had.

* * *

"I was wondering if you'd like to come with me," Ryu asked Sayo impulsively. The other girls watched the two intensely, as if they were watching an intense television drama. What would Sayo say to this proposal?

"Uh, sure, why not," Sayo smiled.

"We'll see you later, Sayo-chan," the other girls said her name teasingly, walking away from the two to leave them alone. Sayo looked back after them with her brows furrowed at them. However, they were gone before she could say anything back. Just as quickly as the girls made their escape, Ryu took Sayo's had and led her out of the park.

* * *

After getting a good, close look at his face, Sayo realized how attractive he was. She was thankful that he was in front of her at the moment, because she could feel herself blushing like mad. She barely even knew him, and he was already holding her hand. As their surroundings changed, she realized where he was taking her. No sooner, they stood between Kurogin and Momogaoka.

"This is where I went to high school," Ryu told her, wanting to get the hard part out of the way first. What would be her reaction to his rebellious past? "Class 3-D."

"Mm," Sayo nodded her head. _'So he and Misawa were in the same class...' _Sayo mentally noted.

They stood side by side, facing Kurogin. Sayo turned her head to look behind her at her old school. "That's where I went to high school," she told him.

* * *

'_Well, at least she wasn't repulsed…' _Ryu thought, taking in how she didn't seem to care that he was a part of the rebel class. He turned his head to look behind him as well. "Momogaoka, huh?"

"Yeah, we were right across the street from each other and never knew," Sayo smiled, irony lacing her voice.

Realizing just how much interest he was taking in her, he pulled the bookmark out of his pocket and placed it where his finger was holding his place. Before the two could say anything more to each other, heavy footsteps and lead pipes dragging on the ground caught their attention. It was coming toward them from behind. Ryu whipped his head around to find the source. He was surprised to see the guys from Ara High. It was the same guys who had fought with them in their senior year, just months ago, and they were still wearing their school uniform.

"Odagiri, it's been a while," the leader stopped in front of them all and slung his pipe over his shoulder, looking at Ryu with a wry smirk.

Ryu said nothing back to them, only moved to cover Sayo from their sight. He knew they had already seen her, but he didn't want them to hurt her. She had nothing to do with their skirmishes.

"I see you've graduated, along with Yabuki and the rest of your little gang," the leader had a twisted look on his face now. "As you can see, we weren't so lucky."

"I'm not the one who held you back," Ryu remarked. There was no way he was going to let these guys blame him for their failure.

"Even so, I feel like hurting one of you guys," the guy slouched a little. "You're just the one I happened to stumble upon."

"That's just stupid," Ryu muttered darkly.

"I hope you're ready for this," the leader taunted, signaling his groupies to attack.

Ryu moved quickly, shoving his book back toward Sayo and dodging punches, kicks and lead pipes at the same time. Adrenaline taking over them both, Sayo moved just as quickly as he did, grabbed the book out of his hand, and dodged one of the lackey's attempts to grab her. He stumbled over his feet and fell toward the pavement. Sayo stood up straight, facing Ryu's back and saw him get punched square in the jaw by the leader. She jumped a bit at the sight of his wincing face. Another one of the lackeys grabbed her upper arm. She quickly jerked her arm back, effectively elbowing him in the face, and turned her head to him with her brows furrowed in anger.

"Don't touch me!"

"Ah!" the guy cried, hand flying to his nose, and falling backwards from the force. This distracted the leader for a moment, giving Ryu time to strike him in the gut, causing him to fall.

Sayo turned to look over at the other guy who had fallen after trying to grab her. He was back on his feet and advancing toward her, with grabbing intent once again. Feeling disgusted and over fighting, Sayo decided to be blunt. She took two steps toward him, drew back her fist, and jammed it into his solar plexus.

"Urgh!" the guy gurgled, wrapping his arms around his stomach and kneeling on the ground in pain.

"Whoa…" the other guys began to back off, seeing how she had dealt with two of them with just one hit each.

The leader was helped up by his groupies, still coughing and panting from Ryu's hard hit, and they began to retreat. "You win this round…" the leader called back to them as best as he could.

Ryu had received a few more hits while Sayo was dealing with her two opponents. His hands were on his knees as he took deep breaths. Sayo joined him at his side, as he stood up straight and sighed. "Sorry…"

"It's okay, I know self defense," Sayo smiled sweetly at him. She hadn't blamed him for this. Those guys came out of nowhere and attacked them. "I kept your book safe," she tried to lighten the mood and cheer him up.

He smirked a little at that and grabbed her hand. "Let's go," he told her, leading her away from the schools and back toward the park.

* * *

Ryu had kept his hand entwined with hers the whole way to his apartment until they were standing in front of the door. He let go of her hand as he fumbled with his keys to unlock the door. As soon as he got it open, he stepped aside and motioned for her to enter. "Go ahead."

"Ah, Ojamashimasu…" Sayo mumbled as she stepped inside, stopping to sit down and take off her sneakers.

Ryu slid off his boots and took them into his room. "Wait here, I'll get you some slippers."

"Okay," Sayo nodded, setting down his book before untying her shoes and sliding them off. As he emerged from his room in his own slippers and a pair in his hands for her, she stood, grabbing his book again. "Thanks."

He nodded, and began to walk away toward the kitchenette. "Make yourself comfortable."

"Okay…" Sayo stepped into the slippers and decided she'd sit on the couch. She stopped quickly, before he got too far away from her, and remembered she had his book. "Oh, here, your book," she held it out toward him.

Ryu turned around, finally remembering that she had his book as well. "Ah, thanks, almost forgot about it…" He strode back to her, accepted the book from her, and headed into his bedroom.

He came back out quickly and headed back toward the kitchenette. Sayo sat down on the couch and watched him as he grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge. She couldn't understand it, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She forced herself to tear her gaze away when he turned around though. Unscrewing the lid off his bottle, he took slow steps toward the couch while downing the water. Once done, he screwed the lid back on and sat down next to Sayo on the couch. It was only then that Sayo saw the cuts he had gotten while fighting.

"You're bleeding," Sayo said, more to herself, as she stared at his face with concern written all over her own. He looked down at her blankly, revealing a little cut on his cheek. "Where'd that one come from?"

"Huh?" he didn't really know he had gotten the cut. He couldn't feel it.

"There's a slim cut on your cheek," Sayo told him, more concern lacing her voice.

"Oh yeah, a lead pipe grazed me," He shrugged, unscrewing the lid off his bottle again.

"Well, where's your first aid kit?"

"In the bathroom, through that door, immediately to your left," Sayo stood as he instructed her on where to go looking for band-aids and such. "It should be in the mirror."

"Okay," Sayo nodded her head before she entered the first doorway. It took her a second to realize she was in his room. Inhaling deeply, she turned to her left and entered the bathroom to get the first aid kit from the mirror. His first aid kit turned out to be anti-bacterial cream and band-aids. She spied cotton balls and some alcohol, so she grabbed those too. Exiting the bathroom swiftly without lingering in his bedroom, she returned to the living room where Ryu had turned on the television. She sat down, placing the items on the coffee table, shifting her body so she could care for him while they both sat on the couch. He watched her as she dabbed one of the cotton balls with a bit of alcohol.

"This might sting a little," she told him before using the tips of her fingers to turn his head so she had access to his right cheek and lightly dabbed the cotton ball over the cut. It barely fazed him. The cotton ball absorbed all the excess blood, and removed all of the surface dirt. Taking a minute to prepare a band-aid with anti-bacterial cream on it, she turned away from him. Once ready, she turned back to him and gently placed the band-aid over the cut, making sure the cream was on the cut. "One down, one to go."

Ryu nodded his head and straightened it out. She could reach the wound on the corner of his lips while he was facing forward. This way he may be able to ignore the stinging. This one would definitely be more sensitive than the other one. He glanced down at her as she prepared the other cotton ball with alcohol.

"Okay, this one will probably sting, so I'll be gentle," Sayo told him before she made contact. He winced a little, as he was right that this one would definitely sting more. Just as she told him, she was gentle and didn't press it down hard, as other people would have. Once again, she turned to prepare the band-aid for the wound. He watched her as she made sure the anti-bacterial cream was in the right spot on the band-aid. She turned back to him and placed the band-aid strategically. She wanted to cover the whole thing, if possible. "There, all done," she smiled at him as she picked up the trash, alcohol bottle, and the first aid kit.

"Thanks, I'll help you," they both stood up from the couch. "I'll put away the first aid kit and alcohol."

"Oh, okay," she smiled and handed him the two items. He walked around the table and into his room. She headed over to the kitchenette to toss the trash. They both returned to the couch at the same time and sat down next to each other.

* * *

They sat on the couch for about half an hour, watching television and chatting a little. Sayo was enjoying his company; it wasn't every day that she got to sit around with a hot guy in his apartment and watch television. Even if the guy was a former rebel, she didn't care. Ryu, on the other hand, was a bit nervous about having her there for as long as he already had. What if Hayato came home and found them? Oh, the talk they would have after she left. He wanted to avoid that situation at all costs.

Ryu turned his head to look over at her. She was quite immersed in the show that was on at the moment. He took in her profile while he could. The way the corners of her mouth curled upward in a smile. How brown her eyes were. The way her hair almost covered her eyes so he couldn't see them. The natural highlights that streak her hair, several tones of browns. She blinked twice and looked at him from the corners of her eyes. Blinking one final time, she turned her head to look at him fully with a smile.

'_There's something about her…' _he thought to himself as they gazed at each other. Her smile was kind and warm. Being impulsive, and without thinking before taking action, he found himself leaning down to kiss her. Sayo didn't realize what he was doing, not right away. Her eyes didn't widen until their lips had made contact. He drew himself back after a few seconds.

"Um…" Sayo uttered, trying to register what exactly had just happened. He held his position, watching her face change expressions as she realized what he did. _'Oh… My… God! He just kissed me out of nowhere!'_

Ryu continued to hold his position. _'Wait for it…' _He was expecting a punch, or a slap. Sayo looked down at the couch space in between them, then looked back up at his face. She exhaled silently and gazed for a moment. But it never came. Instead, she leaned forward quickly and kissed him. This time, it was him who was taken aback. When Sayo drew back, he had to say it. "Well, that was unexpected…"

Sayo looked down at the couch and turned her head away from him, red with embarrassment. "S-sorry, I…" She was cut off by him grabbing her chin and crashing his lips onto hers once again. This time she kissed him back, eve though her head was still spinning. They continued to kiss, while Ryu leaned her back onto the couch slowly, him on top of her. His foot knocked the remote off the coffee table, and she stepped on it with hers, changing the channel. They were still kissing for quite some time, ignoring the television change. Then a thought struck Ryu. What if Hayato came home? _'Shit…'_

Breaking their little kiss party, he stood and scooped her up from the couch with one arm under her knees, the other around her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his neck for security, having a feeling that he wouldn't drop her even if she wasn't holding onto him. Ryu moved the two of them into his bedroom, gently laying her on the right side of his bed. She watched him curiously as he walked around to the left side and joined her on his side, facing her. She rolled onto her side to face him and cuddled into his chest. He was really warm. She hummed contentedly. He draped one of his arms over her shoulder and propped his head up with his other arm, watching her.

"Ne, Odagiri-kun…" Sayo started, her voice sweet with an air of happiness to it.

"You don't have to call me that," he told her calmly, stroking her hair with the arm he draped over her.

"Then, what should I call you?" she closed her eyes and smiled, waiting to hear his answer.

"Just Ryu," he answered, feeling a pit form in his stomach at the words. He had just met her today, what the hell is wrong with his brain!

"Ja, Ryu," she smirked, glancing up to look at his reaction. "You can just call me Sayo."

When she said his name, it sent shivers up and down his spine, but he ignored it. "Sayo."

She inhaled sharply upon hearing him utter her given name, butterflies instantly forming in her stomach. Somehow it made her feel happy. She nuzzled her head into his neck comfortably with her eyes closed. "That sounds good…" she mumbled to herself, not realizing she was thinking aloud.

"I think so too," he whispered in her ear and closed his arms around her back.

The more they cuddled together, the more comfortable they got. They weren't speaking, just enjoying each other's company and presence. It was no time at all before they both fell asleep, just the way they were. At least this way, if Hayato came home and looked in, he wouldn't be able to see Sayo.

* * *

Ryu's eyes fluttered open, revealing his bedroom lit dimly by the sun through the dark curtains on his windows. He looked around, expecting to see a certain person. But Sayo was nowhere to be found. He sat up in his bed, still in the same pair of sweatpants he had gone to bed in the night before, no shirt on, scanning his room once more. Sayo was still not there. His eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion as he looked down at the comforter covering his legs.

"It was just a dream…" he muttered sourly. It had seemed so real, yet so unreal at the same time. He should've known.

….

"Probably better than this…"

* * *

Sayo's eyes fluttered open, her head on her fluffy pillow in her own bed. She was surrounded by her bedroom at her parent's house. The sun lit her room quite well, since her curtains weren't that dark. She squinted as she sat up and looked around. She could've sworn she was just in Ryu's apartment, laying next to him on his bed. The thoughts and images made her blush significantly. She shook her head, realizing she felt disappointed that it was just a dream.

"It was… just a… dream…" She sighed and allowed herself to flop backwards onto her bed. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried hard not to cry. The dream depicted such a simple life. Something not complicated. A blissful illusion. "Even so…"

….

"I wish it were real…"

* * *

Hayato found himself in the hallway of the Karaoke Party place, holding Saya's wrist. She was behind him, looking confused. He let go of her wrist and stood there with his back to her. "What's wrong?" he heard her ask. He stood there for a second, trying to think of what he was supposed to say. If he remembered correctly, this situation between them turned into a delicate one. He ended up hurting her feelings. Maybe this time, he wouldn't. He turned around to face her with a solemn expression.

"You."

* * *

'_This is all way too familiar…' _Saya thought to herself, gazing at Hayato's solemn face. However, her reaction was still the same as it had been originally. She had been taken aback.

"What?"

* * *

"You, being like that," he continued, the situation not changing at all. It was doomed to be what it had been. Although, some would say blessed, since he got to hold her.

"I don't follow you…" she responded the same way too.

"Having an attitude like that," he continued, cursing himself in his head for every step he took toward the same exact outcome. He had a chance to make it better, not worse! "I don't like it."

* * *

"Well," Saya felt her body straighten up, an indignant feeling filling her gut. Sarcasm struck her tongue, "I'm so sorry."

'_Why did I do that? This is only gonna get worse if I don't try to change directions…' _Saya only realized this and questioned her own actions after it was too late. If she had realized quicker, she could've said some thing completely different, maybe apologize for having a bad attitude.

* * *

"Don't do that," he felt himself struggling to keep his hands off her again. The urge to grab her was strong, but he felt he could hold it back. It was true, though. Her attitude sometimes got on his nerves, especially when she directed it toward him. However, he knew it was only a matter of time before he pulled her body toward his and trapped her with his arms to his body. She would piss him off.

'_I know she said it on purpose…'_

* * *

"Why not?" Saya heard her mouth spew out, knowing what was to come directly after it. "Well, Yabuki-kun?"

Using the formality was going to piss him off again, she knew that. Yet, she couldn't stop herself from using it in this situation. After all, it was an argument they were having. She could play a little rough. Then she felt his warm fingers encase her wrist tightly. His eyebrows were furrowed too.

'_Oops, I did it again…'_

* * *

"I thought I told you not to call me that anymore."

He knew his anger was uncalled for, but he hated it when people referred to him formally. Especially if those people were close friends. There was a specific reason he had told Saya to call him by his given name. While he had already admitted this reason to himself, he hadn't admitted it to anyone else yet. He wasn't ready.

* * *

Playfulness took over her. "Yeah, so what?" she smirked, remembering what would happen next. While she felt like she was blushing, her body didn't show it at all. But she began to wonder. Why was she reliving something that had already happened to her? It's not like a person could go back in time and relive something. There was just no way that was possible. But, how was this happening?

* * *

Hayato felt the playfulness spark in him when he saw it in her eyes. "All right, have it your way then."

He pulled her body forward a little roughly by her wrist, and she fell into his chest. He caught her gently and wrapped his arms around her upper body protectively. Her face was in his neck, eyes closed. He rested his chin on the top of her head, relaxing a bit as her stiff body relaxed as well. The embrace was comfortable for both of them. "How do you like that?"

'_Did it feel like this before?'_

* * *

"…" Saya couldn't find any words to say. Her body had finally registered the blush she was feeling, and let the blood rush to her cheeks once in his embrace. "Hayato-kun…"

Saya thought it odd that she wasn't whining this time. Last time, she was whining because he was being romantic in an open place where others could see them, and they weren't even dating. She was jolted out of her thoughts when Hayato moved his head next to hers, his breath on her neck. She felt herself sigh.

* * *

"Saya-chan," his voice was normal, but low. He only wanted her to hear him.

This was the moment, the turning point. Hayato knew that his actions and words here were different from what they were supposed to be. Maybe something good would happen. Maybe he'd be able to tell her this time. It was the perfect moment, after all. He had screwed up, as usual, last time. It was time to make things right.

* * *

Saya felt a delicious shiver run down her spine from his breath on her neck. The way he said her name also gave her a sensation she couldn't quite pinpoint. "Hm?" She slowly moved her arms up to his back, waiting for the right moment to return his embrace.

'_Maybe, it'll be different this time…'_

* * *

This was it, the moment he had been waiting for. It was now or never. He had to do it. He had to know how she felt about him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He turned his head toward her ear. "I love you, you know," he whispered. He waited for a reaction from her. Her body stiffened in his embrace.

* * *

Saya's eyes widened in shock. She wasn't expecting him to confess his love to her. She wasn't even really ready to admit it to herself, let alone to him. What was he thinking? Her body had stiffened as a natural reaction to her shock. However, realizing how heavy his words were, she relaxed her body and wrapped her arms around his upper back, returning his embrace. She rested her forehead on his shoulder for a moment.

"I love you too…"

* * *

This time, it was Hayato's turn to widen his eyes and react with shock. He didn't think she felt the same about him. He thought they were just good friends in her eyes. He tightened his arms around her just a bit to show her how serious he was. Her small body fit with his perfectly.

"Glad to hear it."

* * *

Saya nuzzled her head into his neck, feeling quite comfortable in his embrace now. His arms were strong, and they made her feel safe. He was a bit taller than her, so he didn't have to lean down to reach her too much. Nor did she have to reach up too far to get to him either.

'_If only this could last for a while longer…'_

* * *

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Hayato jumped back as his hand flew to guard his collarbone and a small noise escaped his throat. His face was one of frazzled man. A small blush creeped onto his cheeks. Her chin and breath barely grazed his collarbones. Saya was looking at him curiously, her arms still in the air where his body was just a second ago. She blinked at him, waiting for him to speak.

"…" he couldn't say anything.

"What was that?"

He looked down at the floor, seemingly embarrassed to have to admit it. "My collarbones are sensitive to the touch…" he mumbled, not wanting her to know his one and only weakness. _'But she found that all on her own last time…'_

* * *

Saya blinked a few more times, registering the information he had just given her. His collarbones were sensitive to the touch. Collarbones. Not his naval, or some other place that normal people would be sensitive to, but his collarbones. Saya immediately placed a hand over her mouth and closed her eyes, turning her head away from him. Her body quivered with laughter. However, she couldn't control herself, and eventually both of her hands flew to her hurting sides. As much as she didn't want to, she was laughing aloud. Tears began to form at her eyes, she was laughing so hard.

'_This may be rude….'_

* * *

"Don't laugh," Hayato's cheeks were ablaze now. "It's not funny…"

Although, he knew it would be her reaction. Last time, she had laughed at him as well. In fact, the guys had laughed at him too, when they found out. It was an odd weakness to have, but he had it. It was something he couldn't ignore either. It was just his natural reaction. He was born with ticklish collarbones.

* * *

"Sorry," Saya attempted to apologize in between her massive laughing fits. "But it is funny."

Saya was feeling playful again, now that he wasn't being all serious. Plus, they had gotten the heavy stuff out of the way. His face when it happened was absolutely priceless. She wished she had a camera to save the moment. However, she wasn't that lucky.

* * *

"Hey, I'll hug you again," he tried to threaten, noticing more familiar events coming back. Would he return to ruining the situation once again? The threat didn't seem to have any effect, since Saya was still laughing. "Fine, I'll just kiss you instead."

He moved toward her with the intent to do exactly as he said. She stopped laughing and looked up at him seriously. "You wouldn't dare."

A devilish smirk took over his lips. "Oh, I would." He continued to move toward her, as she backed up, trying to make space between them.

* * *

Saya felt her back hit a wall. _'He wouldn't really kiss me, would he?' _She didn't know the answer to that question, but it sure seemed like he was going to right at the moment. A sense of helplessness washed over her body in a single wave. Her stomach produced butterflies of an insane kind, as she got highly nervous and aware of the wall behind her. She had nowhere to run.

"Hayato-kun, don't…"

* * *

"Why not?" he asked as he stood directly in front of her and placed both of his hands on either side of the wall behind her body, trapping her.

'_I did this before,' _Hayato remembered. Although, the situation turned out much different than this one. He had told her his feelings, she had responded, and they shared a moment of happiness together. He didn't want the end of this situation to become the reality that it was. He wanted something different. Even though it was already different.

'_I want her…'_

* * *

Saya found herself unable to look him in the eye. "Because…" she was looking at the floor with her head down instead.

She found herself failing to find a good reason for him not to kiss her. If she said she didn't want him to, she would be lying. If she said it wouldn't be right, she would be lying, because it would be so right. If she told him she was embarrassed to do such a thing here, she would be lying. If he kissed her in any place, she wouldn't be embarrassed. She would be happy. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she wanted him. She wanted him bad.

* * *

"You don't love me?" he was still playful, knowing she was having a hard time figuring out what to say.

"It's not that…" she mumbled, seemingly embarrassed, her eyes still on the floor.

"Then it should be fine, right?" he wanted her to lift up her head. He figured this would be the only way to get her to do so.

"Eh?" she looked up, surprise evident in her voice. Their faces were so close, hardly any space between them. Maybe, with luck, she would be able to fit one single finger between their noses.

He leaned in, closing his eyes as he got closer. She closed her eyes and waited for the contact.

* * *

Hayato's eyes snapped open, and he shot up from his bed on the floor of his and Ryu's apartment, sitting up. He was trying to figure out what had just happened to him. He looked around, seeing the apartment. He had on his sleep clothes, a t-shirt and his boxers. He sighed, realizing what he really didn't want to. He looked over to the wall beside him sourly.

"Overactive imagination, playing with my head, making me dream weird things…"

* * *

Saya's eyes snapped open, revealing her wallpapered room in her dorm. It was a little dark. She sat up slowly, trying to remember if what had just happened was real, or just a dream. It felt so real, yet so fake at the same time. She had already been in that situation, and there was no such thing as going back in time. It was just impossible. The girls, and the guys for that matter, hadn't been to the Karaoke Party place for months, and there were no plans to go back any time soon. She stared hard at her comforter covering her legs.

"It had to have been a dream…"

* * *

Hayato stood from his bed and began to get dressed. He had to go in early to open the coffee shop today. It was possible that he hated open shift more than close shift. He was quite glad that the responsibility of opening the shop only came around once a week. Aside from part-timers, everyone who was full-time had to open at least once a week.

He had to talk to somebody about this dream he had. Ryu definitely wouldn't listen to him, as he would probably end up turning the conversation around onto Ryu anyways. Tsuchi was too busy, hardly ever seemed to have time off from school or work to have some fun with the guys. Hyuga wasn't exactly the type one would confide in. But Take, he was the perfect candidate. He was a sensitive guy and always listened to what someone had to say.

"I wonder if he has off today…" Hayato wondered aloud as he slipped on his shoes by the front door. Standing, he grabbed his keys, cell phone and opened the door. "Itekimasu…"

Once out the door, he hooked his keys on his belt and flipped open his cell phone. He searched through his contact list until he reached Take's number and hit talk. It rang a few times before his friend answered.

"Hello," the familiar, child-like voice rang through the phone, relieving Hayato.

"Hey Take, you got off today?" Hayato wasted no time to get to the point. The dream was really bugging him.

"Yeah, why? You need to talk or something?" Take asked, the sound of frying food in the background. Figures he would be cooking while on the phone.

"Yeah, kind of," Hayato shrugged, waiting for the crosswalk to indicate he could cross the street. "When is good for you?"

"Well, I don't have work today, but I have a class later tonight, so anytime before two in the afternoon is good, I guess."

"Alright, I get my lunch break at noon, we can meet somewhere then, okay?" Hayato proposed the situation to his long-time friend, hustling across the street quickly to avoid any crazy drivers.

"Okay, sounds good," Take replied, fierce sizzling erupting in the background. "Call me when you get off for lunch and we'll meet in the middle."

"Yeah, that's great," Hayato nodded his head as he neared his workplace rapidly. It was just a short train ride away now. "I'll see you then, I'm on my way to work right now."

"All right, see you then Hayato," Take hung up after finishing his little statement.

Hayato snapped his phone shut and pocketed it, entering the train with his ticket in his hand. Boy was this morning going to be long.

* * *

After Ryu had awoken earlier from his dream, he had fallen back asleep. He was thankful that he didn't have any morning classes today, otherwise he'd be royally screwed by now. He slowly slinked out of his bed and made his way to the kitchenette for a bite to eat. Realizing he didn't hear any snoring or noises of any sort, he turned his head to look over at Hayato's makeshift room. His roommate was not there. Then he remembered how Hayato had been complaining about the open shift the previous night and relaxed. Turning his head back around, he continued to search for something that looked good to eat.

As hard as he tried to ignore it, the dream still persisted in his mind. Bits and pieces of it flashed before his eyes. He shook his head a few times in an attempt to remove them, but it never worked. They came right back. Maybe if he talked about it with someone, he'd be able to ignore it. But who could he talk to?

Hayato was definitely out already. He'd made that mistake before, and didn't intend to make it again. Hyuga probably wouldn't listen to him and want to talk about Mitsu instead. Tsuchi seemed to be too busy to do anything besides work and study. Not that he could blame him, he had a lot of studying to do as well. Take, on the other hand, seemed like the perfect candidate. He'd known Take as long as he'd known Hayato, so they were close enough. Take wouldn't try to get Ryu to realize his feelings for a certain person, unlike Hayato. Take would listen to him and make small comments here and there.

"I guess I could talk to him…" Ryu muttered to himself, seeing nothing of interest in the fridge or cabinets. He returned to his bedroom and clothed himself. He was going out for breakfast.

After clothing himself, he stood by the door to put on his boots. Turning to grab his keys, he remembered his cell phone was still in his room. "Damn it…" he muttered, sliding off his boots and jogging back into his room to grab it. He still had to call Take. He pocketed his phone, slid his boots back on and headed out the door to find some place to have breakfast.

"Where should I eat…?" Ryu asked himself, not having any idea of what he really wanted. He fished out his phone from his pocket and dialed for Take. The phone rang in his ear for a minute or so before the other picked up.

"Hello?" Take sounded a bit distracted.

"Hey Take, it's Ryu," Ryu answered indifferently to the distraction.

"Oh, hey Ryu," Take sounded happy, as a pot clanged in the sink and water immediately splashed into it. "What's up?"

"Not much, just deciding where to eat…" Ryu answered truthfully, shrugging his shoulders as he reached the street in front of his apartment building.

"Oh," Take turned off the water, and Ryu heard a chair scrape against hardwood floor.

"You got today off?" Ryu asked out of nowhere.

"Yeah," Take answered, making a small 'oof' sound as he sat down in his chair. "You need to talk or something?"

"Yeah, you could say that I guess," Ryu shrugged again and crossed the street at the crosswalk. He headed toward town to find something that caught his eye.

"Well, I can't meet with you at noon, but I can before," Take offered, knowing Ryu wouldn't ask outright like Hayato.

"Anytime is fine," Ryu told his friend, looking around the streets at the restaurants around him. Nothing struck him just yet.

"All right, I'll call you when I'm done with my breakfast," Take told him, and Ryu could hear the smile on his face.

"Alright, see you then," and they both hung up. Ryu kept wandering, trying to find something to eat. This might take a while…

* * *

Saya found herself alone in her and Kiri's dorm when she entered the living room. She made herself a glass of iced water and headed back into her bedroom. Once in, she sat on the edge of her bed, picked up her phone off her nightstand, and dialed for Sayo. She took a long sip while it rang.

"Hey Saya," her cousin answered groggily. Saya had to assume the other had just awoken as well.

"Hey, did I wake you?" Saya inquired, lowering her glass from her face slowly.

"Nah, I've been up for a while now," Sayo answered, failing to hold back a yawn.

"Mm," Saya nodded her head and took another sip of her water. "Hey, I need to talk, are you busy today?"

"Busy? No, not today," Sayo indifferent. "We had competition yesterday, so Yoshida-kun didn't schedule a practice for today."

"I see, you don't just jump into the next dance?" Saya felt amused by how her cousin's partner operated.

"No, Yoshida-kun says it would be too stressful, and I agree with him," Sayo answered, Saya could hear her shrugging. "Besides, I have to work tonight."

"Ah, well then we better meet before two," Saya smirked, knowing how the set up of the Dream Star was.

"Do you still have a key to your mom's apartment?" Sayo asked, sounding almost off topic.

"Of course I do," Saya answered, sounding a bit incredulous that Sayo would even ask that question.

"We should meet up at your mom's, where it's private, and talk about things," Sayo proposed, taking in a deep breath and exhaling loudly.

"Yeah, I guess we could do that," Saya knew her mom wouldn't be home today, it was a school day after all. She had to work.

"Alright, I'll meet you there in an hour," Sayo was ready to finish this conversation before she spilled her guts over the phone.

"Alright, in an hour," Saya nodded her head and they both hung up. "Now for breakfast…" she stood from her bed, set her phone back on her nightstand, and headed into the kitchen to make something.

* * *

Ryu stepped out of the family diner he chose to have breakfast in. It was semi close to his apartment, a decent price, and the food was good. He couldn't go wrong with a deal like that. Right as he neared the crosswalk, his phone rang in his pocket. Casually fishing it out, he looked at the caller Id. It was Take, right on time.

"Hey," Ryu answered, watching and waiting for the traffic to allow him to cross the street.

"Hey, I'm heading out now, where do you want to meet?" Take asked right off the bat so he knew where he was going.

"Café de Rovne," Ryu slipped out the name of their old hang out spot from high school. The place hardly ever had any other customers besides them. At least that they knew of, anyway.

"Oh, I haven't been there in a while," Take mumbled upon hearing the name.

"I'll see you there," Ryu crossed the street finally. He wasn't too far from the café right now.

"All right, see you," Take hung up.

Ryu snapped his phone shut and pocketed it again. He didn't know whether to call it lucky or not, but the details of the dream he wanted to talk about were still fresh in his mind. At least there wouldn't be any holes in his story.

* * *

Hayato stood behind the counter at work. It had been about an hour since he'd opened. As early as it was, he could hardly believe how many college students were there. It always amazed him every time he opened the shop how many college students came in so early. Then again, there were times Hayato remembered waking up around eight in the morning and Ryu would be gone. He put on his business face and greeted his next customer.

"Welcome, what would you like to order?"

"Ah yes, I'd like a large dark chocolate latte to go please," an older business woman in a lavender skirt suit approached the counter, sounding hurried.

"All right, that'll be 650 yen please," Hayato typed in her order. She hurriedly fished out the money from her change purse and set it on the counter. He scooped it up, placed it in the register, and printed her receipt. Picking up a large cup, he marked the sides with her specifications, and handed it off to one of his co-workers who made the drinks. He ripped off her receipt and held it out to her. "It'll be right over there when it's done."

"Thank you," the woman nodded her head, accepted her receipt, and moved over to the pick up station.

"Next, please," Hayato called as his register became open again. A young girl slid in front of him.

"Yes, I'd…" she looked up at his face and stopped for a moment. Hayato only continued to smile his business smile at her. "Um, I'd like a small caramel macchiato, please…"

"For here or to go?" he asked distractedly as he typed in her order.

"Oh, uh, to go, please," the girl looked down at her shoes. Her face was flushed.

"Alright, that's 540 yen," Hayato informed the young girl.

"O-oh, right," the girl nodded her head, and searched her purse for the proper amount of money.

"Large dark chocolate latte to go," Hayato's co-worker called as he set the older woman's order on the counter at the pick up station. The woman walked up to him casually, retrieved her drink, and left the store.

"Here we go," the young girl at Hayato's register placed the money on the counter shyly and looked back at the floor.

Hayato nodded as he placed the money in the register. Then he grabbed a small cup, marked her specifications on the sides, and handed it off the drink maker. He looked back at her as he ripped her receipt from the register printer. "Here's your receipt, your drink will be right over there when it's done."

"Ah, thank you," she retrieved her receipt and stepped aside to let other customers order.

"Next please," Hayato called once again. This time, a young man in tight jeans approached Hayato's register. Hayato kept his business smile in place. "What can I get you?" he greeted.

"A small black coffee, please," the young man's voice was a bit high, but Hayato tried to ignore it.

"Small black," Hayato mumbled as he typed it into the register. Not very many people ordered black coffee here. "For here or to go?"

"To go."

"320 yen, please."

The young man placed exact change on the counter, which made Hayato's job easy. Hayato nodded, placed the money in the register, printed the receipt and handed it to the young man. As the young man pocketed the receipt, Hayato marked a small cup for the young man, and handed it off to the drink maker again. "It'll be right there when it's ready."

"Thank you so much," the young man stepped aside, joining the young girl who was previously helped, and still waiting on her drink. The young man noticed her trying to secretly stare at Hayato from afar. "He is hot, isn't he?"

"Huh?" the girl jumped, startled by the sudden comment. "Uh, yeah…"

"I wonder if he'd be interested in me…" the young man commented dreamily.

The young girl just stared at the young man as if he were suddenly green.

* * *

Ryu and Take were together at the Café de Rovne, having their usual drinks from high school. Take was sitting in one of the chairs next to the couch, where Ryu sat comfortably without Hayato next to him for a change. Music was being played faintly in the background and the owner wasn't downstairs at the moment.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Take inquired, knowing that Ryu wouldn't just come out and start the conversation on his own. He may have said he needed to talk, but Take knew that he didn't want to talk. That was the difference.

"I had a weird dream last night…" Ryu started, sitting up a little straighter, readying himself to start this long description of the dream that he knew he was going to be asked to give.

"What kind of dream?" Take raised a brow. Ryu hardly ever had weird dreams. Especially not weird dreams that made him need to talk about them.

"One about an alternate life," Ryu answered, feeling he should add more. "I had been thinking a couple weeks ago about what it might have been like if we hadn't met the girls until now, after high school."

"Ah," Take nodded his head, understanding what Ryu meant by alternate life. "What was weird about it?"

"It was just one day," Ryu started, the slight disappointment from this morning returning in his stomach as he thought about the dream again. "I met Sayo-chan for the first time, and yet so much happened in just one day…"

"Go ahead and describe it for me, please?" Take asked kindly. "I won't be able to help if I don't know what happened."

So Ryu recounted the whole entire dream, in detail, for Take to hear. How he and Sayo met at the park. The way he took her by the wrist away from the other girls. How he showed her the school. The guys from Ara High hadn't graduated and attacked them. How she held her own against the goons that attacked her. That he took her back to his apartment, even though he had hardly known her for two hours. How gentle she was when she cleaned and dressed his wounds from the fight. How he was impulsive. That he kissed her. And she kissed him back. Then they kissed some more. Why he moved them to his bedroom. The way they cuddled in his bed. The way he had felt about her within just a few hours of meeting her. And how they fell asleep in his bed, cuddling together at the end of it all.

Take's eyes were wide from all the detail Ryu had remembered. Most don't even remember what their dreams were about, let alone any details. But Ryu remembered all of it. Probably because it was important to him. Take thought about asking Ryu how he really felt about the girl, but left it alone. He knew it wasn't the right thing to do. Ryu would just retreat into his shell for a while.

"Ryu, it sounds like to me that you really do love her," Take observed instead, mentally bashing his own head in for letting that out. He watched Ryu carefully for any reaction.

"I don't know…" Ryu shrugged and looked away, relaxing quite a bit and sipping from his cup. Well, this talk was practically over now.

"I'm glad you were able to talk to me about this, Ryu," Take smiled kindly at his friend and grabbed his own drink.

"Better you hear it than Hayato," Ryu remarked, adding sourly, "I've made that mistake once already…"

Take chuckled at this, knowing what Ryu meant about his mistake. Hayato was definitely not one to go to with sensitive conversations. Nor was he really one to go to with secrets. The guy was his friend, but God knew he couldn't keep a secret to save his life. Plus, he wasn't exactly subtle when it came to asking questions and making comments. Yes, it was better Take was the one Ryu talked to instead of Hayato.

* * *

Saya unlocked the door to her mother's apartment and walked in, turning on the lights in the process of slipping off her shoes. She was twenty minutes early, figuring she'd get the place comfy for the two of them to talk. This way they wouldn't have to wait for anything to heat up or cool off. Thinking ahead, Saya brought out an extra pair of slippers for Sayo to use when she got there and placed them by the front door. Just in case, Saya filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove to heat up. This way there'd be water for tea if they decided they wanted some. Deciding to get somewhat comfortable, Saya sat herself down on the sofa and turned on the television to occupy her attention until Sayo arrived. The end of some variety talk show was on, so she didn't change the channel and just listened.

Before she knew it, Sayo buzzed. Saya jumped off the couch and headed for the door. Peering out the peep hole, she saw Sayo waving her hand in the air. A small smile overtook Saya's lips and she opened the door. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Sayo smiled as she entered. She knelt down to take off her shoes while Saya shut the door behind her and headed back into the living room. Sayo stepped out of her shoes and into the slippers that were set out for her. Then she shuffled into the kitchen for a drink.

"There's water on the stove for tea if you want some," Saya informed her cousin from the sofa.

"Oh," Sayo spotted the kettle on the stove, steam rising from it. She blinked and looked away, opening the fridge for something cold. She left the kitchen with a bottle of water and headed to the sofa. Feeling right at home, Sayo cracked open the bottle and took a long drag from it. After screwing the lid back on and placing the bottle on the coffee table next to her, she lounged on the sofa, her legs across Saya's lap.

"Well, aren't you comfy?" Saya chuckled, watching her cousin swing her legs onto her lap.

"Yep," Sayo answered with a smirk. 'So, you said you needed to talk?"

"Yeah…" Saya looked away, feeling the butterflies parade in her stomach. She grabbed the remote for the television and muted it.

"Whenever you're ready," Sayo told her calmly, knowing these kinds of talks took time to prepare for.

"I had a strange dream," Saya started, trying to figure out how to describe what happened in her head before saying it and sounding stupid.

"Hm," Sayo nodded her head and closed her eyes. It seemed they both were experiencing strange dreams. Sayo waited for her cousin to continue, as she knew how hard it was to describe these dreams.

"It was like I was reliving a part of my life," Saya began, a confused expression taking over her face. "Only, parts of it were different…"

Sayo said nothing this time, opening her eyes to peer at her cousin. That sounded a lot like her first dream that involved her and Ryu together. An alteration of memory through her dreams. Saya leaned back on the sofa.

"Remember the night they joined us at Karaoke Party?" Saya looked over at Sayo, waiting for an answer to her question.

"Yeah, that was a while ago, wasn't it?" Sayo nodded her head again, having a feeling she was right about the type of dream her cousin had.

"Yeah, though it wasn't the whole night, just a little snippet," Saya nodded her head and turned back toward the television. "When Hayato-kun and I were in the hallway together…"

"Mm," Sayo nodded her head and kept herself quiet. This was Saya's turn to tell a story that never existed, and probably never would.

Saya continued to explain the dream. Even though she couldn't remember all of the details, she remembered the most important details. How he had hugged her. How he told her he loved her. And she told him she loved him. Then, she told Sayo about how she accidentally found his weakness.

"Oh? Weakness?" Sayo perked up hearing the word. "Is his weakness you?" she teased a bit.

"No, it's not me," Saya replied while blushing hard. "If I tell you, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone about it, okay?" she was serious about this.

"Okay, I won't say anything…" Sayo nodded her head and backed away a bit.

"…His collarbones are ticklish…" Saya admitted, peering at Sayo from the corners of her eyes, watching for a reaction.

"…" Sayo was registering what was said in her head. Collarbones? "Pfft…." Sayo collapsed into a fit of giggles. She squeezed her eyes shut and slapped her hand over her mouth. There was no muffling of her giggling.

Saya's mouth formed a flat line as she struggled to keep herself from joining her cousin. She looked away and closed her eyes. "It's not that funny…"

"Are you serious! His collarbones?" Sayo asked while laughing. "What kind of weakness is that, ticklish collarbones…"

"It's his, okay! And I told you, you can't tell anybody," Saya answered loudly, wanting to finish talking abut her dream.

"Oh, alright I won't tell anyone…" Sayo stopped laughing and let Saya continue with her story.

Saya continued with how the situation returned to what it was in reality. Playful with her laughing at him. Then, she continued with how it changed in an instant as he moved in to kiss her. Saya relayed the dialog between them back to Sayo as if she were reading a script. Sayo had a look of surprise on her face.

"Just before our lips made contact, I woke up…" Saya finished her little story.

"That sounds a lot like a dream I had a while back," Sayo sat up and swung her legs to the floor. "I don't remember if I told you about it, but I had a dream about graduation night that was a little altered and ended just like yours did."

"Hm," Saya nodded her head, trying to connect the two dreams in some way.

"Speaking of dreams," Sayo started, getting Saya's attention. "I had a strange dream last night too."

"Really?" Saya looked at Sayo curiously. "What was it about?"

"Remember how I was wondering what it would be like if we hadn't met the guys until now?" Sayo asked her cousin before jumping into the details of her dream.

"Yeah, and I told you not to think about stuff like that," Saya muttered, having a feeling she knew where this was heading.

"Well, the dream depicted what it would be like if I hadn't met Ryu-kun until now…" Sayo explained, knowing Saya had seen it coming.

"Was it weird?" Saya asked, wanting to let Sayo get it off her chest.

"Kind of," Sayo answered, not sure what to label the dream as.

"Go on, tell me about it," Saya told Sayo leaning back on the sofa and closing her eyes.

Sayo only nodded her head and began to recount the dream for Saya. How she met him at the park by the schools. The way he took her by the wrist and led her away from the other girls. That he showed her where he went to school. The Ara High guys who attacked them. How he protected her from the leader. That he took her back to his apartment, even though they had hardly known each other for two hours. How she cleaned and dressed his wounds from the fight gently. How he was impulsive. That he kissed her. And that she kissed him back. Then they kissed some more. How he moved them to his bedroom. The way she cuddled with him in his bed. The way she had felt about him within a few hours after meeting him. And how they fell asleep in his bed, cuddling together at the end of it all.

Saya could only stare at her cousin throughout the whole entire story at the details Sayo was including. They had kissed in her dream. Actually kissed! Suddenly, Saya found herself wondering if Ryu had had the same dream Sayo had. This dream only confirmed that Sayo had feelings for him. And they were strong. Sayo couldn't deny it now.

"I know, it's kind of romantic…" Sayo admitted, staring at her lap, not wanting to look anywhere else.

"Sayo, you can't ignore your feelings," Saya told her cousin seriously. "This dream is enough to tell you how you really feel about him."

"He's my friend, Saya," Sayo closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "That's all there is to it."

"But Sayo," Saya moved to put her hand on Sayo's shoulder.

"No, I won't ruin this relationship," Sayo shook her head, her fists balling in her lap.

Saya just gazed sadly at her cousin. The poor girl had such a difficult time with love. Not that Saya had a lot of room to speak, of course. She was just as bad as Saya. Maybe even worse, since she had never had the guts to say yes to any of the admirers that asked her out during school. She never tried. Maybe she was the one running away from her feelings…

* * *

Hayato walked out of the coffee shop he worked at, officially on his lunch break. He fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed for Take. Padding his way toward Café de Rovne with his phone to his ear, he waited for Take to pick up.

"Hello," Take answered, light music in the background.

"Hey Take, it's me," Hayato greeted, stopping at the crosswalk.

"Oh, hey Hayato," Take's smile could be heard in his voice. "Where are you at?"

"On my way to Café de Rovne," he answered, staring hard at the light, waiting for his turn to cross.

"Oh, good," Take sounded a bit relieved. "I'll be waiting for you then."

"You're already there?" Hayato was confused. How did Take know he wanted to talk at Café de Rovne?

"Yeah, I was talking with Ryu," Take answered in his usual happy tone.

"Oh," Hayato nodded, finally getting his turn to cross the street. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay, see you then," Take hung up.

Hayato walked as fast as he could toward his destination. On his way, he thought of how he was going to describe the dream to Take. He replayed the whole thing in his head on his way there. Taking a deep breath, he turned the door knob to Café de Rovne and entered the establishment. The owner greeted him from behind the bar. He was honestly expecting Ryu to still be there with Take, sitting on the couch that he usually occupied with him. But Ryu wasn't there. Take turned to greet Hayato from his seat in the chair closest to the couch.

"Hey Hayato," Take smiled.

"Hey, where's Ryu?" Hayato asked, making his way to the couch to sit down.

"He said he had class, so he left," Take answered with a shrug.

"Ah," Hayato nodded his head, understanding.

"So, you needed to talk?" Take inquired, making sure he remembered correctly.

"Yeah, about a dream I had last night," Hayato nodded, wanting to get this off his chest as soon as possible.

"Oh, a dream?" Take looked surprised. Second one today.

"Yeah," Hayato nodded his head. "I wanna get this off my chest as soon as possible, so I'll just start."

"Go ahead," Take nodded his head. Hayato was much different from Ryu. With Ryu, Take had to prod and push. Hayato, on the other hand, just dived in head first.

Hayato began to describe the dream, recounting everything that went on. How it was mostly the same as it really happened, and then it was different. How he told Saya he loved her. And she told him she loved him. Then she found his weakness. The way she laughed at him. How he threatened to kiss her when everything else failed. How he thought she looked cute when she was scared. The way she said his name made his body enflame. How badly he wanted her. And then it stopped before the good part happened.

"Wow, Hayato," Take smirked at his friend, drink in hand. "You've got it bad, my friend."

"What?" Hayato looked over at Take with his brow cocked.

"You and Ryu both…" Take muttered, taking a large gulp of his beverage.

"I don't know what that dream was about…" Hayato mumbled to himself, leaning back on the couch.

"You're on lunch, why not eat something?" Take asked, setting his drink on the table and leaning back in his chair.

"Right," Hayato nodded his head and walked up to the bar to order food and a drink.

* * *

Who knew why they were dreaming of each other…


	27. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Let's Hope It's Good News**

It had been about a month after Misawa and Juri had their little blind date that Sayo set them up on. Neither of them had contacted her about what had happened afterwards. Juri figured it was about time to let her friend know about it.

Juri pulled out her cell phone and dialed for Sayo. She was sitting outside on a bench on her college campus. It was between classes for her.

"Hello?" a male voice came through the speaker.

"Uh, hello, is Sayo-chan there?" Juri asked cautiously. This had never happened before, someone else answering Sayo's phone. And a guy at that.

"Oh, yeah, hang on a second, she's a little busy at the moment," the man answered, a relaxed tone in his voice.

"Okay," Juri waited patiently, listening to the noises that were being made in the background. She was curious as to what her friend was doing at this point…

"Man I did it wrong again…" Juri barely heard Sayo complain in the background.

"A friend of yours is on the phone, Sa-chan," the man told her, his voice distant from the phone as well.

"Oh," Sayo's voice was closer this time, but still far enough to hardly be heard. Footsteps on hardwood floors sounded in the speaker. Then it sounded like crinkling paper. "Hello?"

"Hey Sayo," Juri answered, glad to hear her friend's voice. A smile filled her face just thinking about what she wanted to tell her.

"Oh, hey Juri-chan, what's up?" Sayo's smile could be heard in her voice. She sounded out of breath as well.

"Oh, I just wanted to tell you something," Juri felt shyness overcome her. She had never had to tell her friends that she had a boyfriend. This was a new experience for her.

"Oh, is it about Misawa-kun?" Sayo inquired, remembering she had the two go on a blind date about a month ago.

"Yes, actually," Juri smiled, her face reddening a bit. "He asked me to be his girlfriend a couple days ago…"

"Wow, Juri, good for you," Sayo was genuinely happy for her friend. She knew she had made the right choice in setting the two of them up on a blind date. They were perfect for each other.

"I really wanted to thank you for setting us up on that blind date," Juri told her sincerely. "Misawa-kun even wanted to thank you, but never got around to do it, so he asked me to."

"Oh, that's so sweet of you two," Sayo replied with kindness. "Honestly, I wasn't sure if the two of you would ever meet each other without any pushing or prodding."

"You're right, we probably never would have met if you hadn't introduced us," Juri agreed with Sayo. She knew it was the truth, no reason to try and hide it.

"Well, I'm glad he'll be your first boyfriend, you'll have a good experience," Sayo told her sincerely, knowing what it was like to be with him.

"Yes, I'm glad too," Juri nodded her head. "So, who was it that answered your phone?"

"Oh, that was Yoshida-kun," Sayo answered indifferently. "I'm at practice right now."

"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb your practice time," Juri put a hand to her mouth.

"It's no biggie, we were getting ready to take a break anyway," Sayo shrugged.

"Oh," Juri relaxed.

"Well, good luck with Misawa-kun," Sayo chuckled a little.

"Oh, I will do my best," Juri smiled widely. "I'll see you again, hopefully sometime before you leave for America."

"Yeah, I hope to see all of you sometime before I leave too," Sayo replied.

"Ja ne," Juri smiled and hung up the phone after hearing Sayo say the same.

* * *

A few days later, Sayo made her way to Takeshi's apartment, hoping to catch him before he got to work. She had an important request for him. And he was the only one who could do this for her, no one else could. Before tackling the stairs, she searched the parking lot for his car. Smiling at the sight of it, she bounded up the stairs as fast as she could. Her legs weren't burning as much as they used to when she ran up stairs. It must've been from the dancing. She made it to the landing for his floor and jogged over to his door. Catching her breath before knocking, she stood still. Inhaling, she raised her hand and knocked on his door.

It was a moment or so before Takeshi opened the door, a surprised expression on his face. "Well, now, this is a surprise," he smiled, motioning for her to enter. "Didn't expect to see you today."

"Well, I'm kind of here on business," Sayo smirked, slipping off her shoes on her way in.

"What business could that be?" Takeshi followed her into his living room and stood behind his sofa, waiting for her answer. Her back was facing him currently.

"I kind of have a business request for you," she told him, not turning around yet.

"I'm listening," Takeshi crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back on his right leg.

Sayo turned around to face him with a serious expression. "I want you to do any photo shoots I need done while I'm in America."

"Wow," Takeshi nodded his head and gazed at the floor thoughtfully. "That's a big request there, Sayo-chan."

"I know I'm asking a lot," Sayo began, having the whole speech planned out in her head. "But I'll pay for your flights, hotels, and the photo shoots by the hour."

"Sayo-chan," Takeshi returned his sight to his younger cousin. She certainly had grown up quite a bit from all that's happened to her in the past year.

"Please, Takeshi-kun, no one else can do this better than you," Sayo pleaded, desperately wanting to have some connection to Japan while in America.

"Hmm, I'll have to think about this," he told her, turning to the kitchen.

"I understand completely," Sayo nodded and sat down on the sofa.

* * *

Saya's head snapped up from the magazine she was reading in the library at her university. The article had made her come to a realization. "It's almost Christmas…"

"What?" Kiri whispered to Saya. The two were in the library, studying. Well, at least Kiri was trying to. Saya was all done with her studies. Kiri was the one in need of help.

"I just realized that Christmas is less than a month away…" Saya murmured in answer to her roommate's question. "And I don't have any gifts bought for anyone yet…"

"Oh," Kiri nodded her head, slowly processing the information in her head. "Oh!" she turned her head sharply to Saya. "You're right!"

"What are we gonna do?" Saya had an expression that would lead one to believe that the world was coming to an end.

"Don't worry, we'll go shopping after exams are over," Kiri reassured her roommate, desperate to get her back to normal so she could beg for her help again.

"You're right, we can shop after exams," Saya nodded her head, breathing slowly and returning to a calm state of mind.

"So, help me with this problem, please?" Kiri pleaded, holding the book toward Saya and pointing to the question.

"Okay, fine," Saya sighed, placing the magazine she was reading closed on the table and turning to help Kiri out.

* * *

Maki walked around the strip mall, searching the store fronts for anything that caught her eye. She was shopping for Christmas presents for the other girls, and Take. She already had her presents for her parents, bought, wrapped and ready to go. Shopping for presents was hard at times. She wasn't sure what Take would like, even though they'd been together for months now. And she didn't know what to get for Sayo either, since she was leaving the week after. Man, why did things have to get so hard now?

Maki continued to browse, waiting for the right gift to jump up and shout "Here I am!" once she saw it. Of course, it hardly ever worked like that. Sometimes she got lucky, and could find the perfect gift for someone like that. But right now, it wasn't working at all. Maybe if she searched for a gift for just one person, another gift would show for someone else. But who should she start with? Take was the answer that came to mind. He was her boyfriend after all. May as well start with him.

So, Maki strolled along, searching for a gift for Take in every store window she passed. She ignored clothes and shoe stores, since she had no idea what his size was in either department. Instead, she looked in electronics store windows, shops that sold accessories, and other shops that sold knick knacks. Her tactic ended up working. In the end, she found presents for Kiri, Mitsu, Juri and Saya while searching for something for Take before finding something that she thought he would like. The only one left was Sayo. Hardly anyone knew what to get for that girl…

* * *

"All right, since you're asking me for such a big favor," Takeshi began out of nowhere while a commercial was on. Sayo turned her gaze to him in curiosity, waiting for him to continue. "I want you to do something for me as well."

"What would that be?" Sayo asked, willing to do just about anything for him if he'd accept her request.

"Next year, during April," Takeshi started, a serious expression taking over his face. "I plan on proposing to Miku-chan."

Sayo was too stunned by the words that came out of her cousin's mouth, and her own formed an 'o'. Widening her eyes, she stared at him in disbelief and happiness at the same time.

"I want you and Saya-chan to help me do it, so it's a complete surprise to her," Takeshi continued, seeing the expression on the younger girl's face. "Miku-chan can sometimes see things coming…"

Sayo breathed steadily and her face contorted into an epitome of happiness. "Of course I'll help you!" she grabbed his hands in hers and squeezed them tight. "Saya will help too, I promise."

"Alright, then," Takeshi smirked, slowly losing feeling in the middle of his palms from her grip. "I'll do your photo work in America."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Sayo let go of his hands and lurched her body forward onto his, locking her arms around his shoulders.

"Don't mention it," he mumbled, regaining a bit of feeling in his palms, and feeling his storage of air becoming shallow.

Sayo let go of him and leaned back onto the sofa with a giant smile on her face. "Oh, I can't wait to see her face," she mumbled to herself, knowing that Miku had wanted Takeshi to propose to her for quite some time now.

"So, what's on your Christmas list this year, Sayo-chan?" Takeshi inquired blatantly. He wasn't very into hiding his intentions as of late. It had been something that had come out in him since he had met a few of the models he'd been working with for the past few months. They had been quite direct and demanding.

"Eh?" Sayo looked over at her older cousin for a second or two, then turned her thoughtful expression to her lap where her hands rested. What did she want?

* * *

So, weeks continued to fly by everyone as exams came and went. The end of the fall term came, and winter break began. Those who had to limit their work because of classes, were now able to fill that empty time with work. Sayo continued to compete in competitions and sang every other night at the Dream Star. Ryu continued to immerse himself in his books to push away his invading thoughts and memories. Hayato continued to be fawned over at work while trying to pursue Saya.

* * *

Kiri and Mitsu were walking around together in the shopping district one day in late December, a week before Christmas. The two had the day off, and with no classes to worry about for the time being, they had a free day in the true meaning of the word 'free'. They were stopped in front of a clothing store window, mesmerized by the expensive winter fashion, by a magazine stand.

Mitsu sighed, knowing she would not be able to afford such high fashion any time soon, and stood up straight. Waiting for Kiri to stop staring at the clothes longingly, she hopped over to the magazine stand and browsed the covers. There were issues of An An, Potato, Myojo, and even Popolo. Not too far away from the latter, a couple of J-Rock magazines such as Cure were just sitting on the shelf, gathering snow. There were all kinds of magazines on the stand. Even magazines that showcased select manga weekly. There was one magazine toward the bottom, however, that caught her eye. She grabbed the magazine and read the title of one of the featured articles. "Young New Couple Sweeps Local Competitions". Mitsu furrowed her eyebrows, and gazed at the other magazines that were near the one she'd picked up. Other featured articles were similar in title. "Old Champion Emerges With New Partner". "New Dancer Favored By Judges After One Competition?". "Astounding! Five Firsts Out Of Six!". "Rising Star! Where Did She Come From?".

"I wonder…" Mitsu murmured to herself, flipping open the magazine she'd picked up to the featured article. Just who were all these magazines talking about? They were all focused on the dancing world. Maybe, just maybe…

As she flipped through the pages, Kiri stood up straight where she was with a loud sigh, and turned around to find Mitsu not there. Whipping her head around to find her companion, she caught sight of her not too far from where she stood. Sighing in relief, she bounded over to Mitsu's side. "Whatcha looking at?"

Mitsu jumped, startled by Kiri's sudden appearance. "A magazine."

"Obviously…"

"Obvious questions get obvious answers." Mitsu continued to search for the featured article. Photos of couples dressed in fancy, yet somewhat skimpy, dresses and tuxedos passed by her eyes. Some of the men that caught her eye made her do a double take before she remembered she already had a boyfriend.

"Whatever," Kiri huffed, moving her sight to the magazine stand, particularly the section Mitsu had gotten her current magazine from. A look of confusion ran over her face as she read the article titles. Curiosity took over her being and she grabbed the one with the title "Astounding! Five Firsts Out Of Six!". She made no hesitations in flipping through the magazine to find the particular article mentioned on the cover.

Mitsu finally found the article she had been looking for. A large picture of Sayo and Yoshida in matching dress and tuxedo featured with the text title at the top of it. The two were holding hands and smiling at each other. Sayo was in a knee-length white halter dress with red flowers embroidered on around the neck and the top of the slit on the left side. Silver studs served as sparkles around the edges of the flowers. Yoshida had on a white tux with red accents and the same flowers embroidered in certain places. Sayo's eyes were painted red and white to match the dress. In the small footnote in the bottom right corner of the page, the author of the article noted that this was a picture taken of the two at their most recent first place win. (Link to dress: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance%20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG770 .jpg ) (Make-up Link [I do NOT own these pictures]: http:/ browse. deviantart. com/ traditional/ bodyart/ cosmetic/ makeup/ ? qh = & section = & q = heaven + or + hell / d2ty3bl )

On the page following the title was a photo of Sayo and Yoshida at their first competition, where they had won second place. The photo was of the two shaking hands with the head judge after receiving their small trophy. Sayo was smiling earnestly at the old man, who was smiling back. Yoshida had an expression of happiness on his face. Mitsu figured the judge must have complimented them, or her. (For a refresher of what Sayo looked like, Dress Link: http:/ s718 .photobucket .com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance%20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG1476 .jpg ) (Make Up Link [I do NOT own this picture: http:/ browse .deviant art .com/ traditional/ bodyart/ ?q= my work ZEBRA / d30wfrv ) (Hairstyle found on Google: http:/ www .hairs-style .com/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2011/ 02/ quick-updos1 .jpg )

Skimming through the content of the article, Mitsu turned her sight to the third page. Sayo's eyes were wide, her mouth open, and she was facing Yoshida in excitement. Yoshida seemed happy and proud. The footnote for this photo informed the readers that this was the first time the couple won first place. Sayo was dressed in a dark purple dress that had sparkling white and silver details all over the front and neck line. Pink jewels were among the detail on the dress. The front of the dress was short with fringe all around the waist line, and the back flowed downward, converging in waves. Her back was open in this dress, with similar silver and white details on the lower back of the dress as on the front, pink jewels and all. Her eyes were painted two shades of purple, with thick black lines around her eyes. The colors went perfectly with the dress. (Dress Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance%20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG1531-1 .jpg ) (Make Up Link [I do NOT own these pictures] : http:/ browse. deviantart. com/ traditional/ bodyart/ cosmetic/ ?q = Plum dressing / d1sdi9a )

Mitsu flipped the page to reveal the next two photos of Sayo and Yoshida. This photo was quite similar to the previous one, with Sayo's face depicting surprise and excitement, Yoshida's expressing happiness. The two were squeezing hands. Mitsu figured this one must have been taken immediately after it was announced who got first place, before Sayo had time to move. This time, instead of a dress, Sayo had on what looked to be a halter bikini top, paired with a skirt that was short in front and long in back. The top was yellow, but not bright, with sparkles and red bead jewels all over, even on the neck strap. Around her waist, the band of the skirt was wrapped, meeting in the front, with the sparkles on it. The front of the skirt was quite short, but covered by more fabric with the sparkles and red bead jewels that came down over the body of the skirt in a point. The rest of the skirt was without sparkles and red bead jewels, as it ruffled in layers, and transitioned from yellow, to a yellow-orange, and then finally to red. Her eyes were painted mostly a yellow-orange, with a spot of orange on the outer corner of each eye. Mitsu could only imagine what the dance was like. A phrase in the article caught her eye, as it pertained to the performance. It was a quote from an onlooker who had seen the performance. "They really set the dance floor on fire." (Dress Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance %20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = Dance-Costume-14 .jpg ) (Make Up Link [I do NOT own these pictures] : http:/ browse. deviantart. com/ traditional/ bodyart/ cosmetic/ makeup/ ? qh = & section = & q = fire / d2z6yzc )

Mitsu moved her gaze to the next page, where she spotted a photo of Sayo and Yoshida in the middle of their dance. It gave off an air of romance. The two were holding hands, but standing apart on the dance floor. Sayo's eyes were hardly open, and a pained mask had taken over her face. Yoshida's mask gave off the impression that he was chasing after her. Yoshida didn't have on a tuxedo or formal button down shirt with a tie, like he usually did. Instead, he wore a loose, free flowing tan shirt that matched the color of Sayo's dress, open showing his chest. Sayo's dress flowed away from her body, revealing her thigh almost fully. This dress was a lot different from her other ones. It was a halter, with large multicolored flowers covering her cleavage, as the tan fabric of the dress draped around her neck and down her right side, connecting the top to the skirt. The skirt was placed low on her hips, and stopped at her ankles on her left side. On the right side, the asymmetrical hem was quite high, but turned into a straight line in the middle of the skirt's body. A large orange and yellow fabric flower was sewn onto the hip area on the left side, with green vines seemingly painted on flowing down across the rest of the skirt from the flower. Other small flowers were on the vines lower on the dress, of colors red and yellow. The fabric of the skirt remained the same tan as the drapery connecting the top to it. Sayo's eyes were painted a faint peach, with a hint of a pink around the eyeliner. Another comment caught Mitsu's eye from an onlooker. "You could feel the romance as they danced, such a painful, delightful thing." (Dress Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance %20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = Dance-Costume-31 .jpg ) (Make Up Link [I do NOT own these pictures] : http:/ evilonly. deviantart. com/ gallery/ ? offset = 24 / d29as1z )

Mitsu flipped the page once more to reveal a photo of Sayo and Yoshida in the middle of another dance, that looked fun and playful. A large smile was on Sayo's face, and her eyes seemed to sparkle. Yoshida looked just as happy. Sayo had on a short dress that she almost mistook for two separate pieces. The top of the dress mirrored the look of a corset, with sparkling laces in the middle. The color of the dress was navy blue, and with the sparkles all over it, one could say it was as if she were wearing the night sky. Nude fabric covered the space left open between to two sides of the 'corset'. The front of the bottom of the dress was made to look as if it was just draped cross the front from side to side. Sewn on strips of the navy fabric hung onto the back of the skirt, coming down in folds like that of a curtain. A fabric navy choker adorned with sparkles strapped around her neck kept the dress up with thin, nearly unnoticeable nude tint straps connecting to the top of the 'corset'. Her eyes were painted navy blue as well, with a bit of yellow on the inner corner of her eyes. On the outer corners, it the design looked like the tail feather of a bird. A comment from one of the judges struck Mitsu. "When these two performed this dance, I felt the urge to get out of my seat and dance along with them." (Dress Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance %20Dresses/ ?action = view & current = LD-SG1171 .jpg ) (Make Up Link [I do NOT own these pictures] : http:/ browse. deviantart. com/ traditional/ bodyart/ cosmetic/ ? qh = & section = & q = Blue + Bird / d3k3fog )

The final page of the article was another of Sayo and Yoshida in the costumes that were on the cover page. This photo was of the two dancing. The two were in action, anyone looking at the photo could tell. Sayo's leg was poised in between Yoshida's, her toes pointed to the ground, an aggressive expression on her face. Her right arm was extended behind her, while her left hand was gripping his neck, the rest of her arm unseen. Yoshida as well, was gripping her neck with his right hand, while his left arm was extended behind his body, a stern expression playing his face. It wasn't a pose that they had just come up with, it was a part of their routine. There was emotion in the photo. That was how one could tell the two were dancing.

Kiri had flipped through her magazine and found the same photos, only different quotes. One of them, about the most recent dance the two had performed. "I've seen quite a few new comers take on the Argentine Tango, and almost none of them have ever done as well as Tsukioka-san did on her first performance." It was a quote from an old man, long patron and sponsor for the competitions Sayo and Yoshida had participated in. Another one was from the senior judge on all of the couple's performances. "I have high expectations for this young pair of dancers, and anticipate the time when I get to judge them on a slow dance."

"Sayo's being praised a lot by these dance critics," Kiri mumbled in amazement. Who knew that one of her best friends would turn out to be a dance prodigy?

"Yeah, no kidding," Mitsu nodded her head, slapping the magazine shut and placing it back in its spot on the shelf. "A lot of people really like her."

"Not just her, her dancing too," Kiri added in, slapping hers shut and placing it back on the shelf. "It really is amazing though…"

The two turned away from the magazine stand and continued walking along the street. The two continued to window shop, looking for gifts for friends and family. Kiri was desperately trying to find the perfect gift for Tsuchi. Mitsu was just hoping she'd be able to see her boyfriend on Christmas Eve. However, so far, they were having no luck with finding presents for anyone.

"So, what are you doing with Tsuchiya-kun on Christmas Eve?" Mitsu inquired with a suggestive smirk.

"Hey, don't be like that," Kiri chided her friend, but complied to answering the question posed to her. "Tsuchi and I are going to have dinner together, then we're going to his parent's house to stay there until Christmas morning."

"Oh, meeting the parents already, huh?" Mitsu nudged Kiri in her side with her elbow. "He must really like you."

"Oh, shut up!" Kiri playfully shoved Mitsu away from her lightly, blushing hard at the suggestion. "Well, what are you doing with Hyuga-kun?"

"I don't know yet," Mitsu answered, sighing. She'd hoped he'd called her back by now. "But I'd like to go into town and see the Christmas tree with him."

"Oh, like everyone else does, huh?"

"Well, what else is there to do?" Mitsu's lips formed a flat line as she began to think hard on other things to do on Christmas Eve.

"You could go have dinner together," Kiri suggested.

"Like you? No thank you," Mitsu shook her head, still trying to think of other activities. What were Saya, Maki and Juri doing?

"Maybe he could take you to the Dream Star?" Kiri suggested with a smile.

"They probably won't be open, since it's family owned, you know?" Mitsu shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, what do you think the others are doing?"

"The others?" Kiri looked forward as she thought. "Well, Maki and Takeda-kun are going to some place and letting off fireworks together, then they're going to stay at one of her relatives' house."

"Aw, poor Takeda-kun, he doesn't get to meet her parents yet…" Mitsu mumbled, even though Kiri could still hear her.

"Actually, her mom will be there in the morning," Kiri continued.

"Oh, but what about her dad?" Mitsu asked before Kiri could continue.

"He's leaving for a business trip three days before and won't be back until the 28th," Kiri finished.

"Wow, that kind of sucks," Mitsu commented on the situation Maki was facing.

"I know, but she said it isn't the first year this has happened," Kiri shrugged.

"Hmm," Mitsu nodded her head. A small porcelain doll in a shop window with a sweet face reminded her of Juri. "What do you think Juri's gonna do, since she doesn't have a boyfriend," Mitsu asked, not trying to sound rude.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Kiri turned to Mitsu, surprised that she hadn't heard about what had happened, seeing as she was Saya's roommate and all.

"Heard about what?" Mitsu cocked an eyebrow upwards in confusion, peering at her companion next to her. They had come to a halt.

"Juri has a boyfriend," Kiri smiled widely, happiness radiating from her face.

"What? Who?" Mitsu was even more confused. When did Juri meet a boy she liked?

"Misawa, Hiro-kun," Kiri felt playfulness arise inside her, but she kept the flame down. "Sayo's ex."

"Eh, you're kidding," Mitsu breathed, her lips turning up at the corners. "When did this happen?"

"About a month and a half ago," Kiri crossed her arms over her chest, mocking a thoughtful expression. "Sayo set them up on a blind date."

"She did good," Mitsu complimented her friend, even though she wasn't there to hear it.

"Yeah, Misawa was the one to ask Juri out anyway," Kiri smiled again and they continued to walk.

"Those two are bound to be a romantic couple, so they'll probably be at the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve…" Mitsu answered her own question after attaining the information.

"Yeah, probably."

"And Saya?" Mitsu questioned, and elaborated after she got a questioning look from Kiri. "What do you think she'll do?"

"Oh, Yabuki-kun will probably ask her out, and she'll probably reluctantly do whatever it is he wants to do with her," Kiri answered, sighing at Saya's personality and nature. Saya would probably sit through a whole entire night of him being stupid and goofing off, and still talk to him the next day. She was just a forgiving person.

"Yeah, probably…" Mitsu agreed, sighing and nodding her head. "What about Sayo?"

"I'm not sure," Kiri's face depicted true thoughtfulness.

"You'd think she'd make some effort to see Odagiri-kun, you know?" Mitsu sighed. Sayo was usually pretty laid-back and calm, but would tell you how she felt in a heartbeat if she though you were wrong. However, Odagiri-kun stripped her of all that, and left her as a quiet, shy girl.

"She'll probably spend it with her family, since she'll only have about a week with them afterwards," Kiri reasoned. Mitsu only nodded her head in agreement. The girl was leaving the country, no one could blame her.

* * *

"Hey, Ryu," Hayato turned his head around to look at his roommate/best friend who was sitting on the couch reading. Said roommate averted his eyes only and peered at the speaking man. "You don't mind being alone on Christmas Eve do you?"

"Not really, why?" Ryu replied, a bit curious as to what Hayato was planning in his head. Whatever it was, Ryu could already foretell it not going as well as his best friend would hope.

"I want to ask Saya-chan if she'll come with me to visit my little brother," Hayato answered, a thoughtful look on his face. Maybe there was more he wanted to do?

"Is that all?" Ryu prodded, not sure why he was asking at all.

"For the most part, yeah," Hayato nodded his head nonchalantly. "I was thinking about introducing her to mom…"

"Wow, how long has it been since you've gone to see her?" Ryu found himself almost closing his book on his finger.

"It's been a while now," Hayato answered. "But, I figured I could introduce Saya-chan to mom before the brute, you know?"

"Yeah," Ryu smirked at the reference to Hayato's father. Whether Hayato wished to realize it or not, he was much like his father, with his mother's looks. A true mixture of his parents.

"You're not gonna see Sayo-chan at all?" Hayato asked. He knew the answer, but he just had to ask and hear it from the man himself.

"No, I'm probably gonna go see my parents," Ryu answered, suddenly losing interest in the conversation as the attention fell on him.

"Suit yourself," Hayato shrugged and turned his attention to the television as Ryu resumed reading his book.

* * *

Hyuga had called Mitsu after she had gotten back home from shopping with Kiri and invited her to come to the Dream Star that night. She put on a cute outfit and headed out soon after their phone call.

"Where are you headed off to?" Saya looked up at Mitsu from the couch as her roommate put on her shoes by the door.

"Kou-kun invited me to come see him at the Dream Star, so I'm going to see him," Mitsu answered, standing straight and grabbing her keys off the wall.

"Oh, well have fun," Saya smiled at her friend. "I hope he asks you about Christmas Eve."

"Yeah, me too," Mitsu smiled back and opened the door to their dorm. "I'm heading out."

"Be careful," Saya told her from the couch.

"I will," Mitsu flashed a smile at her roommate before closing the door.

"That girl," Saya smiled and shook her head with a small chuckle.

* * *

Hyuga stood behind the bar counter at the Dream Star. There were already a bunch of customers in the place, and it hadn't even been an hour since they'd opened. It was drawing closer to the day when Sayo and Yoshida would be leaving. The back up DJ would takeover. Hyuga figured the crowd was a product of people wanting to see DJ Tama before he left. Sayo seemed to be having a lot of fun. Couples continued to make their way to the dance floor left and right. The owner had hung some mistletoe on the bottom of the disco ball in the middle of the dance floor, since it was close to Christmas now. There was already a sign on the door that let everyone know that the club would be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

Mitsu finally reached the front of the line outside and waited for the bouncer to let her in. She flashed her Id to him in advance, and he nodded as an indication that he had seen it. "So, how are you tonight, Mr. Bouncer?"

"I'm pretty good, but I'm also a bit swamped, as you can see," the bouncer replied in a casual tone.

"How does it look inside?" Mitsu asked, knowing that it was bound to be packed tight in there. She could tell from the length of the entrance line.

"Oh, it's packed, but we're not to capacity yet," he told her in a half joking way.

"Well, that's good," Mitsu nodded her head hearing his answer. They weren't to capacity yet. "Then I can see Kou-kun…"

"Kou-kun?" the bouncer asked, hearing the name fall out of her mouth.

"Oh, my boyfriend, Hyuga Kousuke-kun," Mitsu smiled up at the bouncer.

"Oh, you're Hyuga's girlfriend?" the bouncer seemed to be a bit shocked by this. He didn't think that guy had a girlfriend.

"Yeah," Mitsu nodded her head. The bouncer turned to grab the handle on the door.

"I know you know Sa-chan, but I didn't think you were Hyuga's girl too," the bouncer commented, opening the door to let her in.

"There's a lot of things that are true that you wouldn't think were," Mitsu told him as she passed him to enter the club. "See you later, Mr. Bouncer."

"Have a fun time inside, Hasegawa-san," the bouncer nodded to her and closed the door behind her.

Mitsu smiled to herself and continued on toward the bar. There was one seat open and if she got to it in time, she could grab it. Then she would look for Hyuga. Mitsu looked over at the stage to see DJ Tama and Sayo up there entertaining the large crowd on the dance floor. Sayo was singing and having fun. Behind them on the stage was a countdown of days until the two would be leaving for America. She also spotted the mistletoe on the disco ball. Moving her sight back to the bar, she saw her seat was still open. She decided she really wanted it, so she began to speed walk to it. No one else seemed to be looking for a seat at the bar. It seemed like they were all forming a line to stand under the mistletoe…

Mitsu finally made it to her seat at the bar and gladly rested her feet on the footrest on the stool. She crossed her arms and leaned on the bar countertop, peering around for her boyfriend. Instead, she spotted Kojima. "Master!" she called. She had to be loud in order for him to hear her over the music.

Kojima heard her call, and made his way to her curiously. "What can I get you?"

"Hyuga-kun," Mitsu smirked, knowing Kojima knew who she was referring to.

"Ah, wait a moment, he's in back," Kojima told her. He set down the glass he was cleaning and turned away from her. "I'll go get him for you." He walked toward the back.

"In back, huh?" Mitsu murmured to herself. She waited patiently for her boyfriend to come to her.

Hyuga, in the back, was prepping plates for the cook, cleaning them and getting them from the cabinets. He was on his last one when Kojima rounded the corner. "Hyuga-kun."

Hyuga looked up to see his boss. "Ah, yes Kojima-san?" he continued to clean the plate he had in his hands, being extremely careful not to drop it.

"A girl is at the bar requesting your services," Kojima informed him.

For a moment, Hyuga looked confused, and his hands began to slow down as he tried to figure out why a girl would be requesting his services at the bar. Then he remembered. He had invited Mitsu to come see him tonight. "Ah, that's right."

"I can finish that for you if it's important," Kojima offered, knowing Hyuga wouldn't want to seem like a bad employee who would drop his duties for something personal.

"Ah, no I'm on the last plate," Hyuga shook his head at Kojima's offer. "Please tell her I'll be just a second or two more."

"Certainly," Kojima nodded his head once and turned to return to the front with the information.

Hyuga continued to wash the plate in hand. All he had to do now was rinse it and dry it off so the cook could use it when he got there.

Kojima returned to the front and stood in front of Mitsu casually for a moment. "Hyuga-kun will be out in just a few seconds."

"Ah, thanks," Mitsu smiled at the man and relaxed her shoulders a bit. She sighed. She couldn't help but ponder over the reason Hyuga had wanted her to come see him at work. Would he be asking her about Christmas Eve? Or on some kind of date for before Christmas Eve? She would find out eventually, wouldn't she.

Kojima moved to the far right of the bar to tend to another guests' order. Hyuga rounded the corner from the back and made a bee line straight to Mitsu. "Hey, thanks for coming out Mitsu-chan."

"Oh, not a problem," Mitsu smiled, seeing and hearing her boyfriend's voice for the first time in a while. "It's not like I had anything else to do, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess with you being on break from school and all," Hyuga chuckled a little. It had been a while since they'd seen each other. He was glad to see her doing alright.

"So, what's up?" Mitsu smiled, trying not to jump right to the point of this whole invitation.

"Well, you know Sayo-chan and DJ Tama are leaving after Christmas, right?" Hyuga started, unsure if she knew anything. He knew Saya knew, but wasn't sure if the other girls knew about it.

"Yeah, she told us about it," Mitsu nodded solemnly. The fact that one of her best friends was leaving the country was starting to sink in. She wouldn't be able to see her for a while. Who knew how much America would change her. Maybe she would come back a completely different person from the Sayo she knows now.

"There's that, and I don't have to work on Christmas Eve," Hyuga continued, trying to ease into the next part of the conversation.

"Oh, really?" Mitsu smiled at him expectantly, acting like she didn't see the sign on the door.

"Yeah, the club is closed," Hyuga nodded his head, preparing himself to do what other guys found so easy to do, so it seemed. "Do you wanna do something with me then?"

"Something?" Mitsu was a little confused. He was asking her out on Christmas Eve but didn't have any plans? What the hell!

"I'm not really sure what to do, but we can do anything you want, see a movie, anything," Hyuga shrugged his shoulders, trying to bargain with her. Let's face it, if your own girlfriend doesn't want to go on a date with you on Christmas Eve, something is wrong with your relationship.

"Anything?" Mitsu raised her eyebrows in suspicion.

"Anything," Hyuga nodded his head fervently. Anything to make her agree to spending the day with him.

"Even if you have to pay?" she squinted her eyes at him.

"Hey, now," Hyuga started to complain, stopping when he saw a smile forming on her face.

"I'm kidding," Mitsu chuckled at him. "Of course, I'll figure out something good to do."

"Oh, good," Hyuga sighed in relief. He was getting a bit worried for a moment there.

Mitsu smiled widely at him and pushed herself up across the countertop with her feet, and placed a small kiss on his cheek. Hyuga's eyes shot open wide. He wasn't expecting her to kiss him on the cheek. As Mitsu carefully sat back down, whistles flew across the bar. The two looked from side to side. A bunch of people were watching, including Kojima. The whistling caused both of them to blush from embarrassment.

Kojima passed by the two of them on his way to prepare a couple of drinks that had been ordered. "Ah, how wonderful it is to be young and in love."

"Ah, Kojima-san!" Hyuga tried to look mad at the comment, but failed. If anything, he looked even more embarrassed about it.

Mitsu was surprised to find herself snickering at the comment.

* * *

About ten at night, Saya got a phone call from out of nowhere. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion while peering at her phone. Leaning forward, she grabbed it off the coffee table in front of her. "Who's calling me this late at night?" Peaking at the caller id, she saw Hayato's name flashing on the screen. "Of course," she muttered to herself and flipped the phone open. "Hello?"

"Hey, Saya-chan, it's Hayato," Hayato greeted her, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"What's up Hayato-kun?" Saya tried her best to sound normal. She could hear the nervousness in his voice. Was he possibly going to ask her about Christmas Eve?

"I was wondering if you were busy on Christmas Eve…" Hayato kind of trailed off. The nervousness in his voice persisted steadily.

"I'm not," Saya answered the unasked question.

"Um, well, would you be willing to accompany me to a few places?" Hayato asked, almost as if he was anticipating rejection.

"What kind of places?" Saya couldn't stop the suspicion from reaching her voice.

"Not anything like that, I promise," Hayato sounded flustered at her hint of him thinking something perverted. "I wanted you to meet my mom…"

"…" Saya didn't say anything. He wanted her to meet his mother? They weren't even dating! It's too early to meet his family. Even if he considered Ryu his family, it was still too soon.

"And then maybe have dinner with my little brother," Hayato continued when she stayed silent. "I'll be cooking."

A bright blush enflamed Saya's face. He wanted to cook for her too? Saya had to think straight. Thinking in skepticism was not the way to answer this. He was being polite, which was extremely rare, coming from him. She calmed herself down silently before answering. She was surprised he hadn't said anything while she was being quiet. "Sure, I don't mind."

"Ah, that's great!" Hayato perked up. She didn't reject him after all.

"Do you want to meet up at the park that day or…?" Saya asked so she knew what she was doing.

"Oh, yeah, meet at the park," It didn't sound like he had thought that far ahead. And he hadn't, after all, he was expecting rejection.

"Okay, what time?"

"Oh, meet me there around ten in the morning," Hayato answered her. That he knew. He was going to go visit his mother at a certain planned time. And he was going to pick up the Christmas cake on his way to his brother and father's apartment.

"All right, I'll see you then," Saya smiled, even though he couldn't see it.

"Yeah, see you then," Hayato replied to her happily. Then they both hung up.

"So I'm going to be with Hayato-kun on Christmas Eve…" Saya sighed, telling herself as if to make sure it really was happening. She opened her e-mails and began to compose one that would serve as a sort of chain letter. They would each get it and fill out their own spot, sending it on to the next girl.

Once she was finished typing it all out, she closed her phone, placed it back on the coffee table and leaned back on the couch to get comfy.

* * *

After all of the girls got the message, it came back to Saya three days later. All of their plans were written next to their names. Saya read them all, then forwarded the message to each of the girls, so they all knew who was doing what.

'_Hey girls! Here's the full list of plans for Christmas Eve:_

_Juri- Having a romantic dinner with Misawa-kun, then going to see the Christmas tree afterwards._

_Kiri- Having dinner with Tsuchi-kun, then staying the night at his parent's house until the morning._

_Maki- Going to the bay with Takeda-kun to set off fireworks, then going to my cousin's house for the night. My mom's coming in the morning._

_Mitsu- Going to the movies and having dinner with Kou-kun, then going to see the Christmas tree afterwards._

_Saya- Meeting Hayato-kun's mother and brother, eating Christmas cake and his homemade dinner._

_Sayo- Having a good day with my parents before I leave for America.'_

And so, they were ready to face the last weeks of December. Everyone was there, for now.


	28. Chapter 22

_A/N: Hi all! Sorry it's been a while and I haven't said anything in the past few chapters. This is such a cute chapter. I'm trying my hardest to incorporate all the other couples and I'm having a hard time because, in truth, I'm just like you guys. I wanna get to the parts with Ryu and Sayo that are really good. But the story has to unfold in sequence. So, enjoy chapter 22~_

* * *

**Chapter 22: The Night Of The Eve**

So, here we are with our two groups, on Christmas Eve. Yes, the romantic day before Christmas. Everyone was together by now. Misawa and Juri were walking around together, it was still a while before their reservation for dinner. Take and Tsuchi were picking up Maki and Kiri after they got done working. Mitsu had taken the day off, so she was with Hyuga already. Sayo was at home, having one on one time with her mother until her father got home.

Saya was waiting in the park for Hayato to show up. She flipped open her cell phone to look at the time. "He's late…"

"Saya-chan!" Hayato called from across the way, jogging toward her with a dozen roses in his hand, dressed in all black. Saya let her slight confusion slip onto her face for a moment, and cleared it away before he could see her closely. "Sorry I'm late, almost forgot to buy these."

"Oh, no biggie," Saya shrugged her shoulders.

Hayato looked her over. She wasn't wearing black, but then again, he hadn't told her where they were going. He figured that to her he was dressed pretty normally. Around her neck, Saya had on a red and black plaid scarf to keep her warm. Over her white fitted t-shirt, she wore a cropped button up crochet jacket that was stripped tan and brown. A short black jean skirt covered her upper thighs. A space was left between the bottom of the skirt and her knee-highs that were black with a white diamond design on them. Brown boots that reached her calves covered her feet. She was attempting keep warm and be fashionable at the same time. She had to, after all, it was forecast that it would snow later today. (Outfit Link: http:/ s718. photobucket. com/ albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = SayaSkirtOufit .jpg )

"Shall we?" Hayato smiled at her and turned toward the entrance/exit to the park.

"Sure," Saya nodded and the two took off.

The two walked along in silence toward the train station. Saya pondered in her head about the roses and all the black he had on. Of course, he normally wore black, but not usually this much. Seriously, everything on him was black! His button down shirt, his tie, which was something she'd never seen him wear, his slacks, and his shoes. The only two accessories he wore were one silver earring and a chain necklace. It was Christmas Eve, you don't normally wear black on Christmas Eve. You usually wear bright colors, or white, or warm colors. But not black. What was he thinking.

While all of this was running through her head, they had already gotten on and off the train. Saya blinked at her surroundings, seeing a peaceful little town. Confusion creeped over her mind again. She trailed behind Hayato, looking from one side of the street to the other. Little kids were running around, girls chasing boys, parents and shop keepers doing their normal routine, greeting passersby as if they knew them. Saya had to ask. "Hayato-kun, where are we going?"

"Don't worry, we're not in any danger," Hayato reassured her, knowing she was bound to ask sooner or later. This was his mother's hometown. Where she grew up and lived out her youth. Until she met his dad, anyway. Hayato still couldn't figure out why a beautiful woman such as his mother would fall in love with and marry a ruffian such as his dad. "We're almost there."

"Oh, well, okay then…" Saya nodded her head, feeling stares on her and Hayato as they walked through the town. Some old woman was staring hard at Hayato, as if to place his face somewhere in her memories. Before she knew it, the old woman was approaching them.

"Excuse me young man," the old woman greeted politely with kind eyes. Hayato stopped in his tracks and let the old woman have his attention.

"Yes ma'am?"

"You look very familiar," the old woman began, and Hayato knew where this was heading. The old woman could see his mother in him. He said nothing and the woman continued. "You remind me of a young woman who used to live here a long time ago."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, she was a beautiful young girl," the old woman reminisced a bit. "However, she left with that ruffian Yabuki, and then died of some illness or what have you."

Saya's eyes widened hearing this. She knew that was his surname. Could it be that this old woman was speaking of his parents?

"I see…"

"You wouldn't happen to be one of Reiko-chan's sons, would you young man?" the old woman inquired, sounding hopeful and scornful at the same time.

"Yes, I am her oldest, Hayato," he answered, devoid of any emotion.

"Well, then, I suppose you're here to visit her grave?"

"Yes," Hayato nodded his head once in answer to the old woman's question.

The old woman stalled, peering over at Saya for a moment, before resuming her little conversation with Hayato. "I see you've found yourself a beautiful young maiden, like your father did."

Hayato said nothing, taken aback a bit at being compared to his father. "Um…"

"Treat her right," the old woman told him flatly. "Your father may have been a ruffian in his youth, but he treated your mother well." And the old woman turned around and walked away from him.

Hayato still said nothing in response to what the old woman told him. He only bowed with his eyes closed as she walked away from him. He turned to continue toward the graveyard, finding Saya staring at him with sad eyes. "Come on, let's go," he smiled as best he could and grabbed her hand.

"So, when you said meet you meant…" Saya trailed off, seeing his smile. She stopped talking, realizing what the roses and all the black was for. Letting him guide her, she followed him in silence.

"It's okay," Hayato told Saya in a low voice. "It happened when I was kind of young."

Saya didn't say anything, only listened to him. She watched his back as they walked on. They reached the entrance, pausing at the shrine to grab the water and incense. Then Saya followed Hayato to the grave marked with his mother's name. On the grave marker, there was a heart with the words "Forever in my heart" engraved inside it underneath her name.

As Hayato cleaned the grave, Saya stood behind him holding the incense and roses. She watched him carefully, noticing how gentle his movements were. When he was finished, he stood and traded her items. He placed the roses in front of the grave, lit the incense and placed them on each side of the tombstone. Standing up straight, he grabbed Saya's hand again and squeezed it a bit. Saya noticed the heart, and blinked once before moving her eyes from the stone to him. He looked down at her with a small smile.

"Forever in my heart?" Saya murmured, curious about the words.

"A request from my dad," Hayato looked at the heart engraved on the tombstone. "To show just how much he loved her."

"Wow," Saya felt a sentimental smile tugging at her lips, but fought it back. She felt it to be somewhat wrong to be smiling while standing in front of a grave.

"Look, mom, I brought a friend this time," Hayato said out loud. Saya looked up at him but said nothing. "She's just as beautiful as you were."

Saya felt the blush creep onto her face. She knew he was speaking to his mom, but it was still a bit embarrassing. She bit her lower lip and looked back at the tombstone.

"I hope you'll watch over us, and dad, and Taku," Hayato closed his eyes and brought his hands in front of his face to pray. Saya prayed as well.

Hayato took her hand once again and led her away from the grave. They stopped to put the bucket and ladle back in it's proper place in the temple. Then, they continued on their way back to the train station. "You okay?" Saya asked as they were descending the steps of the graveyard.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hayato smiled back at her.

"You sure?"

"Don't worry about me," Hayato told her refocusing on where he was going. "It's just something we usually do as a family."

"You mean, with your dad and Taku-san?" Saya asked.

"Yeah, but dad's not here this time around, and Taku's busy studying for entrance exams," Hayato explained in his usual tone. "So it's just me this time, but I didn't want to come alone."

"So, you asked me?" Saya stopped moving, causing him to stop as well. He turned back to look at her. She seemed to be sad and happy at the same time.

"Was it bad of me to ask you?" Hayato asked her back, feeling that he had made the right decision about this.

Saya shook her head with her eyes closed. "I'm actually kind of glad you asked me to." Hayato looked at her with a blank expression. "I am your friend, and I don't mind knowing more about you."

Hayato smiled warmly at her and squeezed her hand in his once again. Warmth filled his stomach as they stared at each other. The slightest hint of a tear was hiding in the corner of her eye. Then, a small white speck drifted into their eyesight. They both blinked at it and looked up to see a whole rain of snowflakes floating toward the ground. They smiled at each other and continued back toward the train station.

* * *

It was beginning to get late. By now, everyone was either together, or already doing what they were planning on doing. Sayo was with her parents. Mitsu and Hyuga were at the movies. Take and Maki were at the bay setting off fireworks. Kiri and Tsuchi were having dinner at a small family restaurant. Misawa had gotten him and Juri a reservation at a nice restaurant. Ryu was at work, waiting for his shift to end so he could go home. Saya and Hayato were shopping for Christmas cakes on their way to his family's apartment. Yes, each one of them were doing exactly what they said they were going to do.

* * *

Saya and Hayato climbed the stairs to his family's apartment, Christmas Cake in hand. They had been walking around, shopping for Christmas cakes and just enjoying each other's company ever since they left his mom's hometown. Upon reaching the door to the apartment, Hayato handed the cake to Saya while he opened the door.

"Is he really expecting you?" Saya whispered just before the door creaked open.

"Yeah, I told him I was coming tonight," Hayato reassured her and pushed open the door. "I'm here."

"Oh," Taku poked his head around the corner of the wall separating the sitting/dining room and the main hallway. "Welcome home."

"Taku," Hayato started, sliding off his shoes and grabbing the cake from Saya. "We brought a Christmas cake home with us."

"Us?" Taku stepped out from behind the wall and gazed at his brother curiously. He noticed movement from behind him.

"Yeah, me and Saya-chan," Hayato smiled, walking into the kitchen to place the cake on the counter. Saya stood awkwardly at the front, unsure of what she should do. Should she take off her boots or not…

"Saya-chan?" Taku questioned, stepping back into the sitting/dining room to look at his brother.

"Oh, right," Hayato had almost forgotten that Taku hadn't met her, or any of the other girls, yet. He walked back into the hallway and took out a pair of slippers for her to use. Taku appeared from behind the wall again. "Taku, this is Saya-chan."

"Nice to meet you," Taku nodded his head in a greeting.

"Saya-chan, this is my younger brother, Taku," Hayato informed Saya, extending his hand toward his younger brother.

"Nice to meet you too," Saya nodded her head and bent down to take off her boots. She stepped into the slippers and followed Hayato into the sitting/dining room with Taku. The three sat on the floor around the table by the television. "Did we interrupt your studying Taku-san?"

Taku looked at her, surprised by her formalness, remembered what he had been doing before Hayato opened the door to the apartment. "Ah, not really, I was taking a small break and watching the news."

"News? Man, you can be so boring sometimes," Hayato muttered at his brother's idea of a break.

"Well, what would you watch?" Taku spat back, making a childish sour face.

"Music Station or something, anything but the news, that's so boring," Hayato replied, making a face comparable to his younger brother's.

"Whatever," Taku looked away from his brother in a huff and focused on the news that was still on. Even though it was just the very end of it.

Saya watched the two interact and couldn't help but giggle silently to herself. Hayato's eyes shot over to her, realizing that he and his brother must look quite childish, quarreling in such a way at their age. He looked away from her embarrassed. Saya turned her gaze to the television once she was over their childish behavior, interested in what might come on next. Surely there was some kind of special on featuring some idols.

"So, what do you want for dinner Taku?" Hayato asked his brother, changing the subject. He had to know what he was going to be cooking later anyway.

"Anything is fine," Taku shrugged, not really caring. "Pick something out from the fridge."

"All right," Hayato got up from the floor and went into the kitchen to search the fridge for what he should cook for dinner.

Saya sat there with Taku watching the television in silence. It was only a bit awkward, since they had just met for the first time only minutes ago. Saya ignored the awkwardness in the air and kept her eyes on the screen. Taku was moving around, rummaging through his papers that were strewn around the room. Saya guessed that those were his notes for studying. Her guess was that he was going to return to studying for his entrance exams. If that was the case, she didn't want to disturb him. She knew how stressing studying for entrance exams was.

"Ne, Saya-chan," Hayato poked his head around the wall to see her face. She looked over at him with an expectant expression and he continued, "Is curry all right with you?"

"Curry?" Saya blinked, curious to see whether or not the man could make it properly. "Sure, curry is fine."

"Alright, curry it is," Hayato flashed her a crooked smile and disappeared back behind the wall. The sound of frying pans and pots clanging together could be heard, as well as drawers sliding open and closing. Yep, Hayato was preparing to cook. Better watch out.

"It might get dangerous in there, better stay in here for the time being," Taku warned Saya without looking at her. He knew how his older brother got while handling sharp objects.

Saya's head shot to Taku, her face showing a mixture of fear and curiosity. She only nodded at his warning. She understood in a way what Taku was trying to tell her.

* * *

"Gouchisousama!" Sayo breathed, leaning back in her chair at the dinner table and rubbing her stomach. She and her parents had just finished eating dinner that her mother had cooked.

"Oh, I'm so glad you liked, Sa-chan," her mother, Mayumi, smiled sweetly as she began to clear the table of the dirty dishes.

"Oh, Okaa-chan, I'll help you," Sayo stood up from her chair and grabbing some dishes as well.

Sayo's father, Yuto, got up from the table silently and followed the two women into the kitchen. Sayo bounced back and forth between the table and the kitchen, bringing in the dishes while her mother began to wash them. After everything was in Sayo began helping her mother by rinsing them next to her. Yuto refilled his cup, taking his sweet time, and took a sip of it. He looked back at the two women doing the housework. A small smile spread over his lips as he placed his cup on the counter and opened the fridge again. A small white box was on the third shelf, and he pulled it out. Rummaging in the drawers, he searched for a knife to cut the contents of the box with. The two behind him continued to do the dishes, chatting lightly about dinner and things that also would have gone well with what they had. Pulling out his desired knife, he shut the drawer and opened the box. Without taking the contents out of the box, he picked up the knife, grabbed three forks, and brought it all to the table.

Sayo and her mother finished the dishes and joined her father at the table. When the two women entered the room, they saw a beautiful, petite white Christmas cake sitting on the table. It was decorated with two chocolate holly leaves behind a gold star with a white and gold ribbon tied in a bow, little plastic stick decorations that had an acorn, pinecone, and a holly berry on the ends, and three small mounds of white frosting topped with pieces of chopped strawberries. Sayo's mouth opened wide as she took her place at the table and took in the sight of the cake. Mayumi took her place on the other side of the table and smiled at her husband.

"Wow, Otou-san, it's so cute," Sayo smiled widely, like a child.

"I'm glad you like it, Sa-chan," Yuto smiled back at her and prepared the knife for cutting. He pulled the cake from the middle of the table to in front of him and cut it into three pieces.

"It's a beautiful cake, dear," Mayumi smiled warmly at her husband with her kind, motherly eyes.

"It's a shame we have to cut it up," Sayo mumbled, leaning back a little.

"I bet it will taste wonderful," Yuto told her as he placed her piece of the cake in front of her. Then he slid Mayumi her piece.

"Itadakimasu," the three said aloud before grabbing their forks and piercing the fondant and cake. It was a white cake with a layer of cut strawberries in the middle. It tasted so good.

"Mm~" Sayo hummed after she swallowed her first bite of cake. "So yummy~!"

"I agree, it's so moist," Mayumi nodded her head, smiling like a child herself.

"You did really good this year, Otou-san," Sayo complemented her father on his selection with a smile.

"Well, that's good to hear," Yuto smiled, eating his cake slowly. They had just had dinner before this after all. Suddenly. A thought struck him. This would be the last week he would spend with his only daughter before she left the country. He knew he had to make the best of it. After all, who knew when she would return? "Sa-chan, have you gotten your passport?"

Sayo blinked at her father with a curious, off guard expression on her face, mouth full of cake. She finished chewing and swallowed. "Yes, I got it last week."

"Well, that's good," Yuto nodded his head and took another bite of his cake.

"Yeah, Yoshida-kun told me I had to get it at least two weeks before we left, or he wouldn't let me go…" Sayo looked down at her cake, embarrassed that her partner would say things to her as if she were a child.

"Is that so?" Mayumi smiled, her eyes sparkling as she saw her daughter's face.

"Yeah," Sayo only nodded and took another bite of her cake as well.

"Are you completely packed yet?" Yuto asked once again. He wanted to make sure she didn't forget anything, and that she was ready on time.

"Not yet, I still have some days left here, so I have to leave some things out," Sayo answered after swallowing her cake. "I'll do all my laundry the night before I leave and have everything I need packed to go."

"Well, here's to you having a good time in America, then," Yuto raised his glass to his daughter. "Kanpai."

"Kanpai," Mayumi smiled and lifted her glass as well.

"Thanks," Sayo smiled warmly at her parents, lifting her glass and taking a long drink of her water.

* * *

Ryu stood at the end of his family home driveway, waiting for the gates to open for him. As soon as they did, he entered quickly, making his way to the front door. He was almost to the door when his mother opened it and smiled at him. He nodded his head at her as their eyes met.

"Okaeri," she greeted him as he stood before her at the door.

"Tadaima," he nodded his head again, returning her greeting. She stepped aside to let him pass her, and closed the door behind him. He knelt down to take off his boots as she walked past him into the rest of the house.

"Your father will be down in a moment, and dinner should be ready any minute now," she told him with a smile. It wasn't everyday that they got to have a good family dinner. Especially on Christmas Eve. Ryu and his father hadn't gotten along for a long time anyway.

"Mm," Ryu nodded his head, even though she couldn't see him do it, and stood up straight to step into his slippers. He continued into the living room and flopped down on the sofa in front of the television. He figured this would be the best thing at the moment to keep his mind busy. Maybe there would be something bogus in the news.

It didn't take long before heavy footsteps were heard on the stairs by the foyer. Ryu's father was coming down from his office. Ryu figured he'd brought some work home with him again. Not that it bothered Ryu anymore, he wasn't living with them. His father walked into the living to find Ryu sitting there, a newspaper in his iron grip, as he walked around the sofa and joined his son.

"I'm glad you came home tonight," his father started, surprising Ryu with his soft, kind tone of voice. Ryu was used to a stern, stubborn tone. "You've made your mother very happy."

Ryu didn't know how to respond to that. He side glanced at his father and nodded his head. The news was on. Since it wasn't that interesting, Ryu quickly found his mind wandering in several different directions. Luckily for him, his mother made a lot of noise as she set the table for dinner. He got up from the sofa and went to help her out. He may as well make use of himself. He put the plates on the table as she went back and forth with pots full of food. He poured himself a glass of tea and placed it at his seat. His mother poured herself and her husband some tea as well and headed back to the dining area.

"Dinner's ready dear," she told her husband sweetly, sitting in her seat at the table. Ryu's father got up from the sofa and made his way to his place at the table. Ryu sat down in his seat and waited for them to pray.

"Itadakimasu," the three prayed before they began to fill their plates and bowls with the feast Ryu's mother had made.

The three of them ate in silence, glancing at the television every now and then when the news anchor said something of interest. Ryu knew the silence wouldn't last long and that the questions about school were coming. He mentally prepared himself for the questions before they started. If they asked about Hayato, he was ready for that too.

"So, Ryu, how's college?" his father inquired casually as he dipped his noodles in his soy sauce.

"It's good, passing all my classes so far," Ryu shrugged, carefully bringing his noodles over his soy sauce in his hands.

"And work?" his father nodded after hearing his answer and swallowing his noodles. He was now grabbing some more to dip in his soy.

"You haven't run into any trouble working at that convenience store, have you?" his mother asked him with concern written on her face.

"No, nothing's happened at work, just the same old customers," Ryu shook his head in answer to his mother's question. She worried about him working late night shifts, but sometimes that's all he could fit into his schedule.

"That's good," his mother sighed in relief and continued to pluck out her own food from the pots on the table.

"Yuriko, he isn't in that rough of a neighborhood," his father commented on his wife's worries.

"I know that Shinya, but he's my son and I worry about him," Yuriko responded to her husband's comment calmly.

"Is Yabuki paying his part of the rent on your apartment, Ryu?" Shinya inquired, his son prepared for this kind of question.

"Yes, I won't let him try to skip out on it," Ryu muttered with a slightly dark tone. The thought of Hayato trying to leave him with a whole month's rent made his blood boil. He calmed himself down, though. "He may be an idiot, but he knows the consequences of not paying."

"I see," Shinya nodded his head, noticing how tough his son turned out to be. He must've done something right. Or at least, he hoped so.

"Ne Ryu-kun," Yuriko began, wanting to cautiously approach this subject. "I had wanted to ask you about it before but…"

Ryu looked over to his mother in question. She was being rather cautious in her speech. What could it be that she wanted to ask him about?

"What kind of relationship do you have with that girl who came to see you at the end of the school year?" she finally got the question out. Ever since that girl said that Ryu had met her around Valentine's Day made her wonder about their relationship.

Ryu stared at his mother, thinking for a moment. A girl who came to visit him at the end of the school year… He blinked as he searched his memory for such a thing. Confusion was slapping him on the head as he struggled to remember. When would his mother have seen a girl who had come to visit him here?

"What are you talking about Yuriko?" Shinya questioned his wife. As far as he knew, no girl had ever come to visit his son.

"When you kept him home from school just before graduation," Yuriko began to explain to her husband why he wouldn't know about it. "You weren't home when she came to visit him."

What his mother had said sparked Ryu's memory. That's right, Sayo had come to visit him when his father was keeping him locked up in his bedroom. His mother had given them about twenty minutes alone. That was when he gave her his number and told her to stop calling him Odagiri-kun. He figured his mother had asked Sayo about how she knew him before she left the house.

"Well, that makes sense," Shinya nodded his head and shrugged it off. If he had knew she had let someone in to see Ryu at the time, he would have been furious. But that was no longer the case, so it didn't matter now.

"You mean with Sayo-chan?" Ryu asked his mother, a blank mask taking over his face. This was a subject he hadn't wanted to talk about, nor was he prepared to talk about this. What did the two talk about that day?

"Yes, that's her name," Yuriko nodded with a smile. "She told me that the two of you met around Valentine's Day."

"Valentine's Day?" Shinya raised a brow at his son in question. Oh how curiosity killed the cat.

"Yeah, she was one of Maki-chan's friends," Ryu nodded his head, preparing himself for the long explanation of how he met Sayo and the girls.

"Maki-chan?" Yuriko questioned her son with a curious expression, cutting in on his explanation.

"She's Take's girlfriend," Ryu answered his mother's unasked question. "The guys and I met the girls on the week of Valentine's because Take wanted to meet Maki-chan."

"Oh, so it was just a coincidence that you met the girls?" Shinya understood his son's explanation. However, he knew his wife wouldn't be satisfied, since it didn't answer her question.

"But you didn't answer my question, Ryu-kun," Yuriko told her son, just as her husband had predicted.

Ryu's lips formed a flat line. He'd hoped she'd be happy with his explanation regarding Valentine's Day. Damn, he knew he didn't want to elaborate on his relationship with her. He didn't even really know what it was other than friendship. "We're just friends." He followed his answer with stuffing his face with noodles and meat.

"Just friends…" Yuriko nodded her head, doubting her son's words, but not questioning him any further. She could tell that the subject was delicate. So she left him alone to finish eating.

"So tell me Ryu, have you had any parties at your apartment yet?" Shinya questioned his son casually yet again, a calm expression on his face as he prepared to eat his meat. "It's okay if you have, I won't be angry."

"Yes, but I had nothing to do with it…" Ryu muttered his answer, darkness flooding through as an underlying tone in his voice. Just thinking about that day made him angry and embarrassed at the same time with all that happened. He held no grudge against the girls, just Hayato.

"Oh? You sound angry about it," Yuriko smiled a little, hearing her son's tone. It wasn't often that he showed so much emotion.

"Yes, because that idiot Hayato has no balls, can't say no to a girl…" he spat out the last bit with a disgusted face.

"I see, so it was the girls' idea?" Shinya gained a little understanding to the first answer he had gotten. "What kind of party was it?"

"A pool party," Ryu answered, wishing the conversation was over. He didn't want to have to think about it any longer. Who knew when the memories would invade his somewhat peaceful mind.

"Oh, and you saw girls in bikinis," Yuriko smirked, placing her hand over her mouth like a petite lady.

"So it's safe to say you've had girls over then," Shinya murmured to himself, not wanting to sound like a nosey parent.

"They've been over, but nothing happened," he sounded like he was almost trying to tell himself that nothing had happened. When in fact, something had happened.

"Oh, come now Ryu-kun, we know you're no womanizer," Yuriko smiled at her son, reassuring him that they weren't thinking of such things.

Ryu didn't know if he should take that as a compliment or an insult.

* * *

"You know, you didn't have to walk me home," Saya smirked at Hayato as they walked along the streets filled with loving couples late Christmas Eve night.

"Come on, I'm not gonna let a girl walk home alone at night," Hayato interjected her argument with a stronger one. "Especially a pretty girl like you, who knows what kind of perverts are lurking about tonight."

Saya blushed at his mentioning of pretty girls in reference to her. "Thanks I guess," she told him as she looked away from him to hide her blush.

The two walked along silently, people holding hands and staring at each other on either side of them as they continued toward her dorm. Couples sitting at tables, parted only be candles, could be seen through windows of high class restaurants. Hayato could have sworn he'd heard some people passing by discussing arrangements at a love hotel. He blinked hard twice to try and remove the image from his head. Saya was watching the scenery as they walked. Since this was her first year at the dorms, she wa excited to see snow around her home. The trees had sleet on them, lights spiraling down their trunks festively. That was probably one of her favorite things about the holiday. The decorations around the city were always a beautiful sight.

They arrived at the door to Saya and Mitsu's dorm. Saya stood in front of the door facing Hayato. "Thank you for walking me home, Hayato-kun," she smiled at him.

"Not a problem," Hayato smiled back, shaking his head and putting his hands in his pockets. His eyes shot open in confusion as his right hand rested on a small box with what felt like a ribbon tied in a bow on top of it. Furrowing his brows in confusion, he pulled out the box.

"What's that?" Saya blinked at the small, delicately wrapped ring box Hayato had pulled from his pocket. Could it be he had gotten her a present?

Hayato said nothing, thinking hard about where the box came from. He brought it to his ear and shook it a little. It rattled. His eyes widened as he remembered where it had come from.

* * *

_~Before Hayato left the apartment that morning~_

"Hey Hayato," Ryu approached his roommate/best friend before he got out the front door of their shared apartment.

Hayato turned around to face Ryu. "Yeah?"

"I have a favor to ask," Ryu sounded a bit serious. One of his hands were in his pocket. Hayato could see the muscles in Ryu's arm moving, and guessed he was holding something.

"What is it?" Hayato asked, trying not to sound too interested, nor seem too attentive to Ryu's arm.

"I need you to give this Saya-chan for me," Ryu removed his hand from his pocket, revealing a small black ring box wrapped up neatly in a white ribbon tied in a bow on top of the box. He held the box out toward Hayato. "Tell her to give it to Sayo-chan for me tomorrow."

"Oh, it's for Sayo-chan?" Hayato nodded his head, understanding the logic behind giving the gift to Saya, since he probably wouldn't see Sayo the next day. He carefully placed the box in his own pocket.

"Yeah, a Christmas present," Ryu nodded his head with a blank expression.

"Sure, I can do that for you," Hayato smiled at his best friend, glad to see the guy making some kind of progress on his relationship with the girl.

"Thanks," Ryu nodded his head and turned away from Hayato to go back to whatever it was he had been doing while Hayato wa rushing to get ready to leave for the day.

* * *

Hayato held the box out toward Saya with a smile on his face. She looked at him, confused. She cautiously accepted the box, and looked at him questioningly, as if asking for an explanation. "It's a gift for Sayo-chan from Ryu, he asked me to ask you to give it to her tomorrow."

"Oh," Saya nodded her head, understanding now what the purpose of giving this to her was. "Well, that's interesting, him giving her a present."

"Tell me about it," Hayato agreed. "You should have seen me this morning when he asked me to give it to you."

"I'm sure it was a sight to see," Saya mumbled to herself, not wanting to know what was going through his mind when it had happened. Hell, he probably didn't want to know what was going through her mind when he didn't say anything and gave it to her.

"Well, I hope you have a merry Christmas, Saya-chan," Hayato told her with a nod, backing away from her, signaling that he was going to leave now.

"Mm, you too Hayato-kun," Saya nodded, placed the present in her pocket, and turned to enter her dorm. Once in, she went straight to her room, knowing Mitsu probably wouldn't be back for at least another hour. She placed the present on her night stand right next to her cell phone so she'd remember it in the morning.

* * *

Christmas morning, just about everybody is getting together with their families to celebrate the holiday and give presents. Hayato had stayed with Taku since he knew Ryu was staying the night at his parents' house. Maki and Take were at Maki's cousin's house with her mom. Take had plans to go home later on to see his mother. Mitsu headed over to her parent's house after she woke up. Hyuga was home with his mother. Tsuchi and Kiri were together at Tsuchi's parents' house. Kiri was going home after a few hours of presents with Tsuchi. Juri was at her parents' house with her sisters, spending the day with them, which Misawa was fine with since they'd spent the previous evening together. Saya was on her way to Sayo's parents' house and meeting her mother there as well.

* * *

The doorbell rang throughout the house. "I'll get it!" Mayumi and Ayumi called as they both rushed to the door to answer it.

"Hi mom, hi aunt Mayumi," Saya greeted with a large smile and a bag of presents in her hands.

"Saya-chan, come in some in," the twins motioned warmly, making a path between themselves for her to pass through.

"Thanks," Saya nodded as she entered the house, the door being closed behind her. She slipped off her shoes and slipped into the slippers that had been placed for her. Her mother and aunt had already gone inside before her. She could smell the morning breakfast, freshly cooked. Sayo peeked her head around the corner and spotted her cousin.

"Saya!" Sayo bounded out into the hallway and came to meet Saya. "Here, let me help you."

"Thanks," Saya smiled at her cousin, allowing her to relieve her hands of one of the heavy bags.

"No problem, come on into the living room," Sayo nodded her head in the direction of down the hall and to the left where the living room was located, across from the kitchen and dining rooms.

As the two girls neared the kitchen they could hear the squawking of their mothers and a few small complaints from Sayo's father. He was sitting at the dining table reading the newspaper. The two girls slipped into the living room unnoticed by the adults and placed the bags on the floor in front of the Christmas tree. Seating themselves on the floor, they both unloaded the presents from the bags to the floor. Saya could feel the small box in her pocket and immediately remembered what she had to do. Since Sayo's dad didn't know about Ryu, Saya figured it would be better if she gave it to Sayo in private, away from them. Once all the presents were out of the bags, the two girls stood up.

"Hey Sayo," Saya grabbed Sayo's right wrist with her left hand, getting her attention. "Come with me for a minute, okay?"

"Sure," Sayo gave Saya a slightly confused look, but followed her into the hallway and up the stairs to Sayo's bedroom. Even more confused by now, since Saya had shut the door behind them, she waited for her cousin to speak.

"Okay, this may seem a bit odd," Saya started with her back to Sayo, "but I have something to give you."

"Why would that be odd?" Sayo was getting even more confused by her cousin's words.

Saya turned around, quickly grabbing the box out of her pocket as she did, and faced Sayo head on. Three large steps toward Sayo and she was dead in front of her. She took Sayo's hands, placed the box in them and closed her fingers around it without breaking their eye contact. "This is a present for you."

Sayo said nothing, only blinked at her cousin. She had a feeling she had more to say.

"From Odagiri-kun."

Sayo's eyes widened hearing the name and her head shot down to her hands. Saya had already let go of them. Blinking, she opened her fingers to see what it was. Seeing the black box with white ribbon stunned her. But what made her speechless was the realization that it was a ring box. With that, her heart began to race. Why would he give her a ring?

"It's a Christmas present, so you can open it," Saya told her cousin, seeing the look on her face. She knew she was curious. Saya herself was even curious as to what was inside the black box.

Sayo gulped and untied the bow the ribbon was tied into. She treated it delicately, being careful not to rip any of the ribbon, and placing the ribbon on the nearest hard surface. She slowly opened the box, nervous about the contents. Inside, she found a small folded paper. Concentrating on the paper, she placed the box on the nearest hard surface and unfolded it. Written on the piece of folded paper were the words 'I thought it would suit you well.' She almost missed the small signature on the lower left corner of the paper. Ryu. Taking her eyes off the paper, she looked in the box. There sat a beautiful single earring. A silver stud attached to three oval shaped pearls that dangled down and were attached to a single gem-like charm of a single cherry blossom petal. Saya stared at it in awe. It was breathtaking. To think that Ryu, of all people, had found this and was giving it to Sayo.

"Oh my God…" Sayo mumbled as she stared at the piece of jewelry, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Taking a couple shaking breaths, she carefully lifted the earring out of the box and brought it closer to her face. In the box was a small certificate of authenticity. The pearls were real.

"They're real pearls," Saya grabbed the certificate and stared at it with wide eyes. "How could he afford this thing?"

"I don't know, but I have to thank him somehow," Sayo told Saya with a shaking tone. She was so surprised and touched by this gift, that it was making her emotional.

"As much as I know you don't want to, you should call him to thank him," Saya suggested calmly, placing the certificate back in the box.

"Mm, you're right," Sayo nodded her head, causing her small tears to fall down her cheeks. She knew that was the only way she'd get a hold of him before she left for America.

"Call him now so you don't forget about it," Saya patted Sayo on her shoulder while heading for the door. "I'll leave you be."

"Uh, thanks Saya," Sayo turned her head to follow Saya's movements. Saya only nodded her head and left the room, closing the door behind her. Sayo held the earring in her hand, admiring it's beauty. Sighing, she walked over to her night stand and picked up her cell phone. Squaring her shoulders as if she were preparing for a fight, she flipped open the phone and dialed Ryu's number. She held her breath as it rang in her ear.

"Hello?" Ryu's voice came through the speaker by her ear. She could hear another male's voice that was quite deep, and a woman's voice.

"Ah, Ryu-kun, it's Sayo," she greeted, letting out her held breath.

"Oh, hey Sayo-chan," he responded and the two voices in the background suddenly got really quiet.

"I just wanted to say thanks for the present," she smiled as she stared at it in her hand. "It's wonderful."

"Glad you like it," he told her, no emotions slipping through. She knew he would've been the same even if they were face to face. "If there had been two, I would've given you the pair."

"There was only one?" she blinked, thinking that it was odd for earrings to not come in a pair.

"Yeah, I don't know why though," she could hear him shrugging.

"It's okay, just one for me is fine," her smile softened. She had four piercings in her ears total. Three on her left ear, one on her right. She tended to wear different earrings in both ears, so having this one was nice.

"Well, you're welcome, is what I'm supposed to say, I guess," Ryu mumbled lowly, probably so the other eavesdroppers couldn't hear him. It only made Sayo smile wider.

"I guess," she giggled at him. "If I had known you'd gotten me something, I would've gotten you something."

"You didn't have to, that's why you didn't know about it."

She only smiled at his logic. Sometimes he really didn't make much sense to her, but it made her smile nonetheless.

"I gotta go, my parents are looking at me," Ryu muttered. She guessed they were giving him suggestive looks.

"Okay, have a merry Christmas, Ryu-kun," Sayo told him just before she hung up.

"You too, Sayo-chan."

And with that, they both hung up. Sayo replaced the simple hoop earring she had in her right ear lobe with the new one Ryu had just given her. Placing her phone on her night stand once again, she headed downstairs with a pip in her step. The present really did brighten up her day.

It would be something she'd cherish all her life.


	29. Chapter 23

_A/N: The last chapter in the third chunk of the story. Yay, we're halfway done! Well, mostly..._

* * *

**Chapter 23: It's So Hard To Say Goodbye**

After Christmas, the days just seemed to fly by. Lives went somewhat back to normal since all the hype over the holiday had disappeared. School wasn't in session for another week or so, since the next thing to come was New Years. Sayo had been slowly packing her things for America the whole week. Saya would visit and take her out for some fun every now and then. The girls got together once that week. It was their last ditch effort to have some fun with Sayo before they sent her off to America. After that, they had no idea of when the next time they would see her would be. Sayo still hadn't told any of the guys that she was leaving. Well, except for Hyuga. Since he worked at the Dream Star with Sayo and Yoshida, it was natural that he'd know about the two leaving.

So, the day finally came when Sayo and Yoshida would be getting on the airplane and leaving their home country. It really was a good thing Sayo had taken those conversational English classes. They'd come in real handy now.

* * *

Ryu sat up in his bed, a fierce scowl on his face. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night. He didn't know why, but he had tossed and turned the entire night. His hair was a mess, going in all different directions. With a heavy sigh, he flung his comforter off his legs and swung them lazily to his bedside. Dragging his feet all the way to the bathroom, he took a good look at himself in the mirror. What a mess.

He couldn't pinpoint it, but for some odd reason he had a bad gut feeling that something wasn't right. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Hayato had the day off from work and planned to treat him to lunch today. Or it could be something completely different. Who knew?

Deciding to clean himself up he stripped and hopped in the shower. Maybe the warm water would relieve him of some of his stress.

Out in the living room, Hayato was putting his bed up. The next thing on his agenda to do was to have some kind of snack. It was already pretty late, past breakfast, almost time for lunch, so he figured he'd have something small to tide him over before he and Ryu headed out for lunch. He wanted to do this for Ryu since the guy had bought him so many lunches over the years. It was kind of like he was trying to pay Ryu back.

Since the walls could pass for almost paper thin, Hayato heard the water running in the bathroom. He knew Ryu was in the shower now. At least he was out of bed…

* * *

"Only two more left," Sayo told her father as she brought down her luggage from her bedroom and loaded it into the trunk of her father's car.

"Good, we're almost done then," Yuto smiled at her, taking the suitcase from her hands and swinging it into the trunk.

"I'll be right back with the next one," Sayo turned on her heel and bounded back inside the house with speed.

"She's quite excited, don't you think?" Mayumi asked her husband as she observed her daughter.

"Yes, she is," Yuto agreed with his wife completely. His daughter had wanted to go to America for a while now. He was just hoping that the country of freedom would not change her too much.

"This ones a bit heavy," Sayo grunted as she hauled the large suitcase full of her clothes with both hands out the front door of their two story home.

Yuto walked up to her so she didn't have to carry it too far and took it from her so she could go back up and get the last one. So far she had three suitcases, two small ones and a large one, and two small bags, one carry on. Sayo was in and out quickly with the lightest of her suitcases. She passed her father up and put it in the trunk herself and shut it. She smiled proudly and turned to her parents with her hands on her hips.

"That's all?" Yuto asked Sayo, knowing the answer already. She only nodded her head in answer. "Are you ready to go then?"

"Let me call Yoshida-kun, see if he's ready," Sayo answered her father and headed inside to sit down on the couch and call her partner. Once she was where she wanted to be, she flipped open her phone and dialed Yoshida's number. Placing the phone to her ear, she listened to it ring. On the third ring, he answered.

"Hello?" he sounded somewhat out of breath.

"Yoshida-kun, it's Sayo," she answered with a half smile on her face. She figured he was either practicing or toting his luggage around like she had been.

"Oh, Sa-chan," she heard his tone of voice change instantly. "What's up?"

"How are you doing this morning?" she asked him, wondering about his lack of breath.

"Oh, good, almost ready to head to the airport, you?" he answered in a nonchalant, "it's-normal" way. She could practically hear him shrugging his shoulders as he spoke.

"We're ready to go, all my luggage is loaded in the trunk," Sayo answered his question. Her smiled tugged at her cheeks, desperately wishing to widen across her face.

"Well, if you head up there now, I'll meet you there," Yoshida told her, giving her the okay to head out.

"All right, I'll see you there," she told him with a large smile. The two hung up after a short 'bye' was exchanged. Sayo stood up and pocketed her phone, heading back out to the car. Upon seeing her father's face, she smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. "We can go."

"Alright, then let's get going," Yuto walked over to the passenger's side to open the doors for Sayo and Mayumi. The two women got in and he shut the doors behind them. Sighing, he made his way over to the driver's side and got in to start up the car. With a rumbling of the engine, they set off for Narita International Airport.

On their way, Sayo's phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She struggled a little bit to get it out of her pocket while she sat in the car. Quickly reading the caller id, she answered the phone with a flip and a click. "Hey Saya, what's up?"

"Hey, where are you?" Saya asked her cousin. She knew she was leaving today, but didn't know when exactly.

"We're on our way to the airport," Sayo answered, staring out her window in the car and watching the scenery of Tokyo pass her by. This would be the last time she'd see the familiar sights for a couple months before she came back to see Takeshi propose to Miku.

"Already?" Saya sounded surprised.

"Yeah, Yoshida-kun has us leaving around noon," Sayo answered. It was about ten at the moment. The traffic wasn't kind, and Narita Airport was a bit far from where she lived. So leaving early was actually a good idea.

"Alright, I'll call you when I get to the airport then," Saya told Sayo.

"Okay, see you then," Sayo responded to her cousin's short conversation and they both hung up. Inside, Sayo was wondering what Saya was up to.

* * *

Saya rounded up the girls and made sure every one of them made it to the airport before Sayo got there. Since Sayo knew Saya was going to be there, Saya decided to greet Sayo when she arrived. So Saya left the rest of the girls inside and waited for Sayo outside in front of the doors. However, the first one of the pair leaving to show up was Yoshida.

"Yoshida-san," Saya smiled at the man as he approached her with his luggage behind him.

"Ah, is that Saa-chan?" Yoshida squinted at her playfully in greeting and walked up to her. "It's been a while."

"Yes, it has been a while," Saya nodded her head in agreement to his statement. She hadn't seen him since her last dance class with Sayo. "Saw you two in the magazines and read the articles about all the wins you've had."

"Yeah, I'm glad I noticed Sa-chan's potential before anyone else did," Yoshida squared his shoulders proudly, making the statement as if it were an idea of a genius.

Saya could only chuckle at the amount of pride that radiated from him. She took a moment to bask in his charm. She could see the other girls and women walking about around them staring at him. He was really something else to behold. A gorgeous face, nice hair, deep eyes that looked like chocolate, and a beautifully tan complexion. Plus, he was tall. As they say, tall, dark and handsome. That described Yoshida to a tee. Saya sighed discreetly and smiled. "Was there a specific reason you wanted to leave on the first of the new year?"

"Ah, yes, now that you mention it," Yoshida nodded his head, as if he had intended to explain the significance to someone. "If we left here today, we'd end up in America on the 31st of December, so we can start a fresh year in America."

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense," Saya nodded her head, seeing the meaning behind the date.

"Well, I have to go in to get my luggage checked in," Yoshida politely explained to Saya, cutting off their small conversation by grabbing the handle on his suitcases and bowing slightly to her as he walked in the doors of the airport behind her. "Have Sa-chan come in to do the same once she gets here."

"Oh, yeah, I will," Saya nodded her head as she called her response back to him. All the women's heads turning to stare at him as he continued to the line for luggage check in. After the doors closed, she sighed and turned around to watch for Sayo once again.

* * *

About an hour later, Ryu was being led by Hayato to some mystery restaurant that Hayato had been wanting to bring him to for lunch for weeks now. He said they had the best pork cutlet he'd had in a long time. And some really cute waitresses. Ryu was so thrilled.

The whole morning, Ryu still couldn't shake that gut feeling he'd had ever since he couldn't sleep. Something was happening, and his gut was telling him he wouldn't like it. Not one bit.

Before Ryu could ponder on his gut feeling any longer, the two arrived at said restaurant. Two young girls, definitely in their teens, at least, stood outside wearing short skirts and button down white shirts with aprons tied around their thin waists. Once they spotted them, smiles spread across their faces and they instantly became shy. They batted their eyelashes and tilted their heads a little to the side. "Would you boys like to dine with us?" they proposed, motioning toward the restaurant.

"Yeah," Hayato nodded, heading straight toward the front door. "Come on Ryu."

Ryu didn't say anything, only followed his best friend into the establishment, ignoring the two girls behind them tactfully as their eyes traveled up and down his back side. That was something he wasn't used to. Girls checking him out. Their eyes were like laser beams on his back. It was weird, because any normal guy would secretly enjoy that. But for some reason, he was quite uncomfortable with the way the girls were looking at him. Like he was a piece of meat. He imagined that was how some girls felt when his buddies checked them out.

"Just two?" one of the two from the front stepped in front of them and got them menus.

"Yeah," Hayato nodded his head, oblivious to the way Ryu was being checked out from behind.

"Follow me," the girl smiled, holding the menus in front of her, and leading them to a table with two chairs around it. She placed the menus at each place setting and took out her order pad from her apron pocket. "So, what can I get you to drink?"

"Water," Ryu answered quickly, without even looking up at her. He picked up the menu and opened it to the lunch menu. The main item was their pork cutlet, but they had other things on the menu as well. Some ramen, a set of onigiri, and even a hamburger.

"I'll have a coke," Hayato answered, folding his hands over his menu and smiling up at her. He had already decided on the pork cutlet. There was no need for him to look at the menu.

"Alright, I'll be back with your drinks," the waitress walked away with a smile and pocketed her pen in the process of turning around.

Once she was gone, Ryu felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He figured he'd amuse Hayato and try the pork cutlet, so he closed the menu and set it down in front of him. Hayato was across from him, grinning happily.

"What'd I tell you?" Hayato smirked at his best friend, trying to hint at his earlier statements about the place. "A good place, right?"

"Don't know yet, gotta taste the food first," Ryu leaned back in his seat, knowing what Hayato was hinting at but refused to take the bait. Honestly, the girls kind of creeped him out with the way they were checking him out.

"But the service is nice, don't you think?" Hayato waggled his eyebrows at Ryu, trying to be a little more obvious with his hint.

"They're pretty," Ryu shrugged. This caused Hayato to stare at him incredulously.

"Pretty?" Hayato raised a brow at Ryu's words. Man, and this guy really says he's not interested in someone? These girls were obviously interested in him, yet all he says is 'they're pretty'. Either something was wrong with him, or he just wasn't interested in the girls. "Seriously?"

Ryu shrugged his shoulders, having a feeling he knew what Hayato was going to attempt to touch on. But, Hayato knew the subject was taboo. Besides, the waitress was back with their drinks.

"Okay, so," she started, setting the appropriate drink in front of it's appropriate owner. "Are you boys ready to order?" she whipped out her order pad and pen again.

"Yes, I'd like a pork cutlet," Hayato nodded, politely handing her his menu before she started writing down his order.

"Okay," she nodded her head, taking the menu and, after tucking the menu under her arm, she wrote down his order. "And for you?"

"Same," Ryu told her simply in a flat tone. She nodded and grabbed his menu, placing it under her arm with the other one, and simply doubling the first order on her pad.

"Okay, it should be out in a few minutes," she smiled at them and turned to leave them alone.

* * *

Sayo finally arrived at the airport and was greeted by Saya. The two hugged and unloaded Sayo's luggage from the trunk of Sayo's parents' car. Saya and Sayo headed inside as Yuto and Mayumi went to park the car. Saya urged Sayo to check in her luggage first before she did anything else. So, the two went through the line. It took a few minutes, since the rush was only just beginning. They had gotten there just in time. After Sayo's luggage was checked in, Saya walked with her to find her terminal number. They searched the monitors until they found it.

"Oh, there it is," Saya pointed out to the far right monitor blaring in neon green lettering Tokyo to Los Angeles, California Terminal #29.

"Terminal 29," Sayo told herself, mentally noting the number so she wouldn't forget it.

"Hey, I have to talk to you before you go to the terminal," Saya told Sayo before they left the spot they were standing at.

"Okay," Sayo nodded her head, having no objection to the idea. She still had about an hour before she had to board the plane. She had her ticket in her hand and her passport in her back pocket.

"Let's go outside," Saya led Sayo back toward the front doors to the airport. Yuto and Mayumi were entering just as the two were heading out.

"Oh, where are you going?" Mayumi questioned the girls just inside the doors.

"Oka-chan, could you take my carry-ons to the terminal for me?" Sayo handed her mom her bag that she had slung over her shoulder and a small pouch she had strung around her wrist.

"Oh, sure, what number is it?" Mayumi nodded her head, accepting the task and items. She slung the bag over her shoulder and firmly gripped the string of the pouch in her hand.

"29," Saya informed her aunt, wanting to get her cousin outside as soon as she could. The quicker she got this conversation over with, the sooner she would know what she should do after the conversation.

"Where are you going?" Yuto repeated his wife's first unanswered question from beside her.

"We're just going outside to talk," Sayo shrugged her shoulders, letting them know it wasn't a big deal.

"Okay, just keep an eye on the time," Yuto told them and began to walk off with Mayumi to the terminal. They would finally be able to meet Yoshida.

Saya and Sayo continued outside and sat down on a bench that wasn't near any of the business people walking through the front doors. Saya knew she had to approach the subject cautiously. Otherwise she'd get a wild reaction from Sayo. The two girls sat quietly for a moment as Saya gathered her bearings. Finally , Saya turned to Sayo with a serious look on her face. Sayo gulped, having a feeling the subject would be a heavy one.

"Sayo," Saya started, looking Sayo dead in the eyes. "I'm just going to get straight to the point here, there's no point in beating around the bush."

"Okay, shoot," Sayo nodded her head, not fully understanding Saya's words, but willing to listen to her.

"What's the real reason behind you going to America?"

Sayo stared at Saya blankly. A heavy subject indeed. Honestly, there were plenty of reasons, which was why the subject was so heavy in the first place. Okay, so there were really only two or three reasons, but the main one was a heavy issue Sayo didn't want to deal with at the moment.

"Why didn't you want Odagiri-kun to know?"

Another part of the heavy subject. Him. The main reason she was wanting to leave. Not telling him was just a way to make it easier on her. Sayo looked away finally, closing her eyes. "I just didn't want him to know…"

"You're trying to run away, aren't you?" Saya asked her seriously, feeling as if she'd hit the nail directly on the head. Sayo's reaction only strengthened her belief.

Sayo turned her head farther away from Saya when she said the words 'run away'. A pained expression ran across Sayo's face, Saya could see it. Yeah, she was dead on. "No…" Sayo replied in a low, pathetic tone.

"Sayo, don't lie to me," Saya sighed, knowing Sayo didn't want to talk about this right now. But if she didn't talk about it now, when would she ever?

"So what!" Sayo burst, half yelling, and turned back to Saya with an angry expression, brows furrowed, but pain in her eyes. "I can run if I want to, it's my life."

"Sayo, running away doesn't solve anything, you know that," Saya retorted with an equally pained expression on her face. She felt bad that Sayo's feelings were this complicated. Honestly, Saya had no idea it had gotten this bad.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't run, now does it?" Sayo responded bitterly, tears threatening at the corners of her eyes. "If I had to look at him and tell him I'm leaving, it'd be ten times harder to leave."

"Sayo, you…" Saya realized that Sayo had it bad. Seeing this, Saya was convinced that Sayo knew her feelings, but was refusing to acknowledge them.

"Besides, it's not permanent, so there's no need to say good bye," Sayo stood from the bench before she began to cry and took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't need Yoshida to see her like this right before they left for America.

"Right, sorry I brought it up," Saya stood next to her cousin and they headed back inside to the terminal. At this point, Sayo had no idea that the other girls were waiting for her. She would be surprised, in a good way this time.

As the two rounded the corner by the terminal, the girls all began to make loud noises. Sayo looked up, curious at first, then her eyes grew wide quickly. The other four girls came over to her with smiles on their faces and arms open wide.

"Sayo!"

"Hey you guys," Sayo smiled back at them, happy to see them all one last time before she boarded the plane.

"Oh, please tell me you'll send me a souvenir," Kiri pleaded. Of course, leave it to Kiri to ask for something before she'd even left the country.

"Yes, of course I will," Sayo responded with a chuckle. This sparked a whole large conversation between the five girls. Yoshida joined them quickly, standing next to Sayo and referring to her as 'Sa-chan' the whole time. Even Yuto and Mayumi had joined the group conversation.

Saya slipped past them undetected and made her way to the large glass windows that overlooked the runway. Once there, making sure none of them were paying her any mind, she fished out her phone from her pocket and dialed for Hayato. Maybe he would be with Ryu and be able to help her out.

* * *

Hayato and Ryu had just finished the last bite of their pork cutlets. Ryu could still feel the stares of the waitresses, even though they were halfway across the restaurant. Seriously, those girls were like vultures, and he was their fresh meat. Hayato leaned back in his seat and patted his stomach. Ryu just felt full. Although, he had to admit that it was a good pork cutlet.

Hayato jumped a little at his phones vibration in his pants pocket. Furrowing his brow curiously, he pulled it out to check the caller id. "Oh," he mumbled to himself and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Hayato-kun, are you with Odagiri-kun right now?" Saya was straight to the point since she didn't know how much time she had to explain everything to him.

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"You know that Sayo's been competing in dance competitions, right?" Saya started, trying to think of the best way to explain this quickly.

"Yeah," Hayato nodded his head, hearing the rushed tone in her voice.

"Well, long story short, her partner asked her to go to America with him and she's leaving today," Saya told him. That was mainly all she wanted him to know. However, to just come out and say that she was leaving for America today, come down to the airport quick, would just be confusing and would bring up more questions.

"What?" Hayato was shocked that he and the guys hadn't heard about this earlier.

"Yes, and I need you to get Odagiri-kun down here as soon as possible," Saya told him her favor. That was her goal, to get the guys down here before Sayo got on the plane.

"I'll see what I can do," Hayato began to hang up.

"Her flight is around noon to Los Angeles, so she should be getting on soon," Saya informed him in a hushed tone just before he hung up.

"Okay, hopefully we'll get there in time," Hayato nodded his head and hung up the phone. He snapped it shut and sighed. Ryu probably wouldn't like this one bit. How was he going to bring this up?

* * *

Saya sighed, grateful that no one approached her during her phone call. She slipped the phone into her pocket and stared out the window at the runway. There were two planes setting up to take off. She jumped when a hand landed lightly on her shoulder and whipped her head to her left with wide eyes. "Saa-chan."

"Yoshida-san…"

"Did I scare you?" Yoshida chuckled, removing his hand from her shoulder and smiling at her.

"Ah, no," Saya shook her head and returned her sight to the runway in front of her.

"So, did you invite an uninvited guest just now?" Yoshida asked in a low tone so he wouldn't be heard by the others. Although, the girls were all wrapped up in their own loud conversation to hear any other one.

"Busted, huh?" Saya pursed her lips at the irony of her situation. She had tried to hide and secretly call Hayato without being seen, but her efforts were discovered by one of the only guys here. It figured he'd notice.

"Just a guess, since you were on the phone," Yoshida shrugged nonchalantly, watching the runway as well. "Who was it?"

"Some friends of ours," Saya answered, leaving a lot of room for speculation. After all, she and Sayo had a lot of friends. He wouldn't know if they were all there or not.

"Come on Saa-chan," Yoshida prodded. He wanted to know who it was, even if he didn't know them. If this person's presence would cause Sayo to rethink her decision, he really didn't want them there.

"…" Saya took a moment to debate with herself whether she should tell him about the guys or not. "Yabuki Hayato-kun and Odagiri Ryu-kun…"

"Who are they?" Yoshida continued to prod. He wanted all the information he could get. After all, Sayo didn't want these guys to know she was leaving and didn't tell them on purpose. There had to be a reason for it, and he wanted to know.

"Our friends," Saya answered, having a feeling he would give her a look of disbelief. She knew she'd end up having to elaborate on their relationship. But that was the thing, she didn't know how to elaborate on Sayo and Ryu's relationship. She knew how each of them felt about each other, but refused to tell the other. She didn't want to try to push them together, because that would only end up with them pulling away from each other. They had to come together on their own in order for their relationship to work.

"Just friends?" Yoshida did as she predicted and gave her a look of disbelief, but didn't feel like pushing the envelope.

"Yes, just friends," Saya nodded her head, grateful that he didn't ask her to elaborate on their relationship.

* * *

Hayato looked up at Ryu, debating with himself on how to bring this up. Saya sure did drop a bomb on him at the moment…

"What did she say?" Ryu asked, startling Hayato out of his internal debate.

"Well, since you brought it up…" Hayato sighed, knowing he'd get the silent treatment for a while if they actually made it to the airport on time. "Saya-chan told me that Sayo-chan is leaving the country today."

Ryu stared at Hayato with slightly wide eyes. The waitress had come by to pick up their dirty plates and left them with their check. The whole time Ryu was silent. Hayato didn't know what to think.

"Saya-chan said she leaves in about an hour," Hayato continued cautiously, not wanting the other to lash out at him out of nowhere. "We might be able to make it…"

"Where is she going?" Ryu asked monotonously. There was no emotion in his voice.

"America."

Ryu said nothing more and looked out the window at the cars passing in the street. People were walking around in kimonos, heading to shrines to pay their visits and to let the gods know of their prayers. Couples walked by hand in hand, smiling at each other. Ryu felt himself become empty as he watched them.

"Ryu, we should go see her," Hayato tried to get his friend's attention.

"She didn't tell us for a reason, so she must not have wanted us to know," Ryu muttered, not moving his sight off the Tokyo streets.

"But we know now," Hayato began to argue with him, but was cut off by Ryu's pissy words.

"I won't go if she doesn't want me there," Ryu muttered with a hint of bitterness in his voice. He didn't want to go if she didn't want him there. In his eyes, if she wanted him to know she would have told him about it sooner. If he knew she were leaving, he probably would've made more of an effort to see her before today. But if this was how she wanted it, then so be it.

"Listen you," Hayato started, irritated by Ryu's attitude. This was not the normal Ryu. "Just because she didn't tell you she was leaving doesn't mean she didn't want you to know," Hayato stood from his seat, brows furrowed in anger. "It was probably because she wasn't going to be gone for long, or she just didn't know how to tell you." Hayato felt the anger rise in him with every word. After all, he'd lived with this guy for months and had to deal with all his moodiness and silence whenever the girl was even mentioned. "You don't know when you might see her again, or if you might see her again, so stop being a bastard and let's go to the airport to see her off!"

Ryu stared at Hayato, surprised the other would get so worked up over a car ride in a public place like this. However, he had to admit that some of what he was saying was true. Ryu knew he was being a pissy bastard and didn't want to think that he might never see her again. Gathering himself, he followed Hayato to the counter to pay for their lunch. And they left the establishment, determined to get to the airport before Sayo left.

* * *

"So, why didn't Sa-chan want them here?" Yoshida asked Saya, peering down at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Because, it would be hard for her to say good bye to them," Saya answered, a solemn look on her face. She felt that, if she were in Sayo's shoes, she'd feel the same exact way. Seeing them would make her want to stay.

"But she's not saying good bye," Yoshida had a good point. After all, Sayo had promised Takeshi that she'd be there to help him propose to Miku in April. But then she'd have to go back to America again. "She'll be back from time to time."

"That's true, but that doesn't mean she'll always see him," Saya nodded her head, understanding where he was coming from, but knowing how Sayo would see it as well.

"Doesn't mean she can't see him, though," Yoshida countered.

"Mm, but she'd have a hard time leaving if she saw him again," Saya responded to his truth.

"Does Sa-chan like this guy?" Yoshida had put a piece of the puzzle together. Too quickly.

"…" Saya's eyes were wide open as she stared blankly at the now empty runway in front of her. She wasn't supposed to let others find out how Sayo felt about Ryu. "Please, don't say anything to her…"

"Why?"

"Because, I think she's just refusing to acknowledge it, even though she knows it…" Saya explained. However, since they weren't her feelings, she couldn't be a hundred percent sure about what she was saying.

"Alright then, I won't say anything," Yoshida understood. It was a sort of secret that anyone could figure out except for the person it was about.

"Ah, Takeshi-kun!" Sayo was heard squealing from behind Saya. The two at the window turned around to see what the commotion was about. They turned to see Sayo hugging her older cousin around the neck with a wide smile on her face.

"I take it that's not him," Yoshida mumbled to Saya. In truth, he wanted the two guys to get here, so he knew what he was up against. He wanted them there, but he didn't want Sayo to see them.

"No, that's our cousin, Noda Takeshi," Saya smiled and walked back over to the group without another word to Yoshida. Once there, she engaged in a conversation with the group. She acted as if she had never left, or made the phone call.

"Hm, I wonder who Sa-chan will choose…" Yoshida mumbled to himself, excited about their new adventure that awaited them in America.

* * *

As the two guys rode in the back of the taxi, time ticked by. Hayato kept an eye on the road, the clock in the corner of his eye. They really were pushing it, time wise. He glanced at Ryu, wondering what was going through his head right now. On the exterior, Ryu looked calm, normal. But inside, a storm was raging. Hayato was hoping he wouldn't be the one to receive the storm's wrath.

Just before he got too impatient and asked the driver how much longer it would be, on the horizon he saw the airport building. Relief washed over his being as he saw that they still had at least fifteen minutes before twelve. He relaxed into his seat and waited for the car to come to a stop. However, as they neared the airport, traffic began to increase and their rate of travel decreased significantly.

Luckily for them, they got there just five minutes to twelve. They paid the driver and hurried inside, reading the flight board in a hurry for the terminal number.

"Terminal 29," Ryu told Hayato and the two walked as fast as they could through the airport to the terminal they were searching for.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the terminal, a flight attendant came over the intercom alerting the passengers of their final call for boarding on the flight from Tokyo to California. Yoshida gathered his carry-ons, and helped Sayo gather her own. A line formed rapidly behind them at the gate.

"We better get in line now, or we might not make it on," Yoshida joked a bit. He knew that if they were in line with their tickets and passports out, they would be let on the plane. But without those two items, they were out of luck.

"Okay, let me get out my passport and ticket," Sayo nodded, understanding what he was trying to get at and opened her small pouch on her waist to get out the two items she needed.

"So, when are you coming back?" Kiri asked, not wanting to wait, but also not wanting to sound impatient.

"Oh, I'll be back in a few months for a special thing," Sayo tried not to spoil anything since Miku was still there. "Here they are."

"Oh, well that's cool," Mitsu smiled, folding her arms across her chest. She knew how Kiri felt. All the girls felt the same. One of their best friends was leaving and they wouldn't be able to see her for a while. It would be like that, probably for years. And Sayo's visits were sure to be sporadic and unpredictable.

"Well, it's time to get in line to board," Sayo smiled at Yoshida as they both stood behind an American couple. The line moved unexpectedly quick. It wasn't two minutes before the couple was at the gate with Sayo and Yoshida right behind them. They were to be the last two to board the plane.

The girls, Sayo's parents, Ayumi, Takeshi and Miku stood together by the chairs, watching the two as they stood in the line.

* * *

"Man, how far down is this terminal!" Hayato complained as they passed by terminal 26. They had two minutes on the clock. Maybe they wouldn't make it after all.

"We only have three more to go," Ryu told his friend, hoping he would at least get to see her before she got on. With the thought of not making it setting in, he began to run toward the terminal with determination. Hayato stared at his back and, deciding quickly that he didn't want to be left behind, began to run as well.

Hopefully they would be able to see her.

"There it is!" Hayato spoke with relief in his voice as he saw the sign for terminal 29, and the large group of people he recognized. Well, he recognized at least half of them. As they got closer, and could see past the crowd, they both saw Sayo's back at the gate entrance.

"Sayo-chan!" Hayato called out, but was unheard. "Hurry Ryu, or she won't know you were here!"

"…" Ryu hesitated, not wanting to make a scene in the middle of the airport. He saw Saya turn, figuring she'd heard Hayato, and her eyes widened. "Sayo-chan!"

Sayo, just barely inside the gate entrance to board the airplane, turned to look back at who had called her name out. She recognized the voice immediately, but had no idea why she'd heard it. As her eyes fell upon the person she knew would make her rethink her decision, they grew wide. As they stood there gazing at each other, it almost seemed as if time had stopped. Everything was moving in slow motion.

Why was he there? Who had told him about her leaving? Before she could say anything or turn to exit the gate entrance, Yoshida grabbed her wrist and pulled her along with him. With the force of her body's movements, her hair flew back, allowing him to see her ear. He saw the earring he had given her for Christmas in her lobe. It gave him a good feeling.

"Come on, we've got to get our seats," Yoshida's voice could be heard as he pulled her in with him. After she was gone, the ticket takers closed the gate.

As Sayo sat in her seat on the plane, she saw his face. After the flight attendant spoke of the safety precautions, Saya's words echoed in Sayo's head. "Running away doesn't solve anything!" Maybe she was right…


	30. Chapter 24

_ A/N: This is important! When Sayo and Tamaki are involved, the italic dialog is them speaking in Japanese. When Saya and the others are involved, the italic dialog is in English. I hope this won't confuse anyone... Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 24: The Beginning Of A New Tomorrow**

A ten hour flight later, Sayo and Yoshida disembark their plane at LAX in Los Angeles, California. Since they had slept the whole way, the two were ready to take on a day in Los Angeles to get acquainted with their temporary home. According to the clock on the walls, it was 5 a.m. They had a whole new day in America. Sayo was slightly confused when she saw the date read 12/31/05. There was no such thing as time travel. With a confused expression, Sayo turned her head to Yoshida.

"_Yoshida-kun, is this what you meant by starting a new year in America_?" she asked him, thinking about things he had told her before they left before she spoke so she didn't sound stupid. They were walking their way to luggage claim.

"_Yeah, California is 16 to 17 hours behind us in Japan, so it's a different day here_," Yoshida explained since Sayo had never been to America before now.

"Hm," Sayo nodded, following Yoshida while watching all the Americans walking around her. So many different colors of hair. Blonds, redheads, some guy with a blue Mohawk, even some guy with neon pink and blue hair walked past her. "Wow."

"First we'll get our luggage and check into our hotel," Yoshida informed her of the first things on their to do list. "Then we can go have a little bit of fun before meeting with everyone else at the dance studio."

"Sounds like a good plan," Sayo smiled largely at him as they approached the large crowd surrounding the luggage claim. "That's a lot of people…"

"Tell me about it," Yoshida nodded his head. They both kept out a hawk's eye for each other's luggage as the conveyer belt circled. It took them a good fifteen minutes to get all of their suitcases before they were able to exit the large crowd of people waiting for their own luggage to surface from behind the wall.

Being extremely careful not to lose each other, they made their way to the exit of the airport to catch a taxi. The third taxi to pull in stopped in front of the two and they hurriedly put their luggage in the trunk. Once in the back seat, Yoshida informed the taxi driver of the hotel they were headed for. The woman driver nodded her head and pulled out into traffic, knowing all too well where she was going.

"So, you two are Japanese?" the driver made small talk while driving the two.

"Yes," Yoshida answered with a small smile to appease the driver.

"What are you over here for? Eloping?" The driver smirked suggestively, watching their faces in her rearview mirror.

Sayo immediately blushed deep red and shook her head. "No, no."

"Ah, no," Yoshida shook his head, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks. "We're here on business."

"Oh? Business? You look a bit young to be working for a large scale corporation…" The driver had seen all kinds of people and business people coming and going from Japan. Most of the ones they sent over to do deals and negotiations were older gentleman.

"No, we're dancers," Yoshida elaborated on their situation. He was slightly flattered that the driver would think that they could possibly be working for a corporation, but he would be in the wrong if he told her they were.

"Oh, dancers," the driver nodded her head, finally understanding why he was so handsome and she was so pretty. "Ballroom?"

"Yes," Sayo nodded her head as she answered with a smile on her face. She was really not paying too much attention to the conversation, as she was far more busy staring at the city from her window. So many tall buildings, like in Tokyo. But for some reason, it was so different and captivating to her.

"That's cool, you must be pretty good if you're coming to America to compete," the driver sounded impressed with them. After all, they were both still young.

"I think we're pretty good," Yoshida shrugged, being completely modest in this conversation of abilities. After all, he didn't want to sound stuck up or overly confident in their abilities.

"He's the one who's good, being a former champion and all…" Sayo mumbled, the end of it, not wanting to sound like she was bragging about her partner.

"So, what are your names?" the driver asked, curious about the two of them and wondering if they had any potential. "I'm a fan of ballroom dance competitions, so…"

"I'm Yoshida Tamaki, and she is Tsukioka Sayo," Yoshida answered, as Sayo was staring out her window once again. They were nearing their hotel.

"Yoshida? The former champion Yoshida?" the driver inquired incredulously, eyes wide with surprise.

"Ah, yes, that would be me," Yoshida, was slightly shocked, but knew that a lot of people in the world of ballroom dancing knew his name. He didn't think a taxi driver would know who he was.

"Wow, that's amazing, I've met a champion…" the driver smirked to herself as she pulled into the drop off circle in front of the doors of their hotel. "Well, here's your stop."

"Thank you so much for driving us," Yoshida smiled at the driver and handed her the payment for their ride. Sayo was already getting out to stand and admire the hotel and it's size.

"I'll pop the trunk for you," the driver accepted her payment and leaned forward to pop the trunk for them.

Yoshida and Sayo walked around to the back of the car to unload their luggage from the trunk. As they continued to unload, the bellhop loaded their luggage onto his cart to bring it inside for them. Once all of their luggage was out, Yoshida shut the trunk and waved to the driver through the rear window. She waved back and pulled off to continue her job. Refocusing his attention, Yoshida followed Sayo into the hotel lobby behind the bellhop.

Yoshida made his way to the reception desk as Sayo explored the lobby like a little child. It took them a few minutes to check in and get the key to their room. He had booked them a two bedroom suite for at least two weeks so they had enough time to get used to Los Angeles and find a decent apartment. He got Sayo's attention, gave her a copy of the room key for her to keep with her, and hopped in the elevator with the bellhop to go up to their room.

The bellhop followed them, waiting for them to open the room so he could unload his cart and head back downstairs to help more customers. Sayo took in the sight of the hallway. The walls and floors were spotless, like they had just painted and set the carpet in. Speaking of the carpet, it was a beautiful abstract print with blues and greens swirled into each other. The walls were a neutral light brown with gold sconce-like lamps on the wall for decoration and lighting. The doors for each room were a beautiful cherry wood with gold handles. Sayo couldn't help but smile. She had read in the lobby that there was even a pool. It was quite a luxurious hotel.

Yoshida stopped walking and unlocked their door. He held it open so the bellhop could enter first to unload their luggage since he knew the man had to get to the other customers before they arrived. "Sa-chan, go on in," he told her after the bellhop was in.

"Oh," Sayo smiled widely seeing the door open. She bounded in, excited to see the beauty of it. She was not disappointed. A cherry wood entertainment center sat on the wall with a television on it. There was a kitchenette with matching cherry wood cabinets, and a dining area where a small cherry wood table with two chairs slid under it sat. A large suede sofa sat in front of the entertainment center in front of two doors. Behind each door was a room for each one of them. In between the bedrooms was a full bathroom with a tub, shower, toilet and double sink. Near the front door was a closet and a half bath next to the closet.

Sayo walked into one of the two bedrooms and admired it. There was a full sized bed on a cherry wood frame, a cherry wood armoire and matching cherry wood nightstands on each side of the bed. Since the bedrooms were placed on the back side of the building, there was a window in each one behind the bed. All the walls in the suite were a pale brown, and the carpets were a swirl of silver and gold. There was at least one painting in every large room.

While Sayo was admiring their temporary 'home', Yoshida tipped the bellhop for his troubles and drug his suitcases into the room Sayo wasn't admiring, figuring she'd want that one. He waited for her on the sofa, hoping she would be done soon. After all, they had a few places to go today. He was waiting for an email from their boss, but he knew it wouldn't come until later in the day, possibly in the night. It took her a few minutes before she flopped down on the sofa next to him with a smile on her face.

"Ne, how could you afford a place like this?" she asked, amazed that there was a way he could have so much money. She was sure that this was really expensive.

"I used to be a regular here when I was trying to become a champion," Yoshida smirked at her. "Boss helped me pay for some of it too."

"Oh, that makes sense," Sayo nodded, understanding what he was getting at.

"So, we have an appointment at the new dance studio around noon, and a New Year's party to attend to familiarize ourselves with our new co-workers and competitors," Yoshida informed her of their plans for the day.

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Sayo smiled at the word party. It had been a while since she'd been to a proper party. She was looking forward to it.

"We have a few hours to roam around the city before that though, you want to?" Yoshida smirked, knowing she'd jump at the chance and wouldn't turn down the opportunity to explore. After all, they were in Los Angeles, there was an endless amount of things one could do in a day.

* * *

Saya flopped down on her bed that night in her pajamas, all the things that had happened after Sayo left running through her head. She almost felt like it was someone else's life that she was watching, but it wasn't. It was her life. It wasn't a movie. It was all really happening. Sayo was really in America now. She couldn't ask to see her whenever she wanted anymore. Things really were going to be different without her around. Saya sighed and closed her eyes.

"It's reality…" she whispered to herself. Opening her eyes, she shifted her body so she would be laying on her back and facing the ceiling.

Right after the boarding gate was locked, Ryu stood unmoving by the large windows and watched the plane Sayo was on as it circled the runway and finally took off. He was completely silent the whole time. None of the others wanted to say anything. After all, they had all kept it from him that she was going. Any kind of anger from him was undesired, so they left him to his thoughts.

Hayato and Saya stood in front of the windows as well, but not close to Ryu. Hayato had tried to get closer to Ryu, but felt an aura that defied another's presence at all costs. He ended up retreating to his previous spot next to Saya. "Man, that guy's so stubborn…"

"But, I can kind of understand his feelings," Saya had responded to Hayato's words. And they were true, she could understand that he was grasping onto the fact that she was no longer going to be around them a lot. And possibly not at all. It was a hard thing to accept. She and Hayato talked about a few things, including the fact that things may become quite boring around them for a while.

Sighing once more, Saya turned on her side and slipped under her comforter. "Time to sleep."

* * *

Sayo and Yoshida had been walking around Los Angeles practically all day. They had lunch at a stylish little café. They buzzed around in music shops and clothing boutiques. Sayo couldn't help herself and tried on a few things in a couple of stores. They didn't buy anything except lunch. Even so, Sayo had a ton of fun trying on all the clothes. In a way she put on a fashion show for Yoshida. They also made sure to visit the DoCoMo store to pick up their cell phones while they were out.

People were all over with tents set up, selling fireworks for New Years. As it got later in the night, street vendors popped up in heavily populated areas, selling things like 2006 glasses, noise makers and other paraphernalia that related to celebrating the coming new year. Sayo was quite fascinated with the glasses that she couldn't help but ask Yoshida to purchase a pair for her. So, he gave in to her cuteness and bought a pair for her to wear. He had never seen such a bright, joyous smile before. Sayo had never thought she'd be celebrating the same New Years twice.

Yoshida had been paying close attention to the time all day. Since his new phone didn't have a world clock programmed in it, he kept his old one with him so he knew what time it was in Japan. He was waiting for an important update from their boss. It should be coming any time now, seeing it was already almost five o'clock at night their time. So, in Japan, it was almost ten o'clock in the morning. The information should be coming any time now.

"Hey, you've been checking your phone a lot today, you waiting for an email or something?" Sayo asked, wearing her 2006 glasses, puffing out her lips with her brows raised, and eyeing him curiously.

The question had caught him off guard. He didn't know she had been paying that much attention to him. "Oh, yeah, from boss."

"Oh, must be important," Sayo nodded her head in understanding, turning her head from him to watch where she was walking. She didn't want to bump into anyone because she wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

"Yeah, he's supposed to send me the address of the new dance studio and club, along with a time we should be there by," Yoshida explained as they walked down the sidewalk, passing many others by in stylish fashion. After all, they were in a stylish city to begin with.

"I see," Sayo nodded, registering all of what he said in her head. She blinked twice, furrowing her brows in confusion. "Wait, club? Why a club?"

"Boss set us up with a friend of his who owns the club we'll be working at, doing what we did at the Dream Star," Yoshida explained to her with a small smile on his face. It was amusing to him that she didn't put two and two together. Of course they'd be set up with a job. It wasn't like they were going to be in a competition immediately. "He's also supposed to let me know when Kawamura will be joining us here."

"Kawamura-kun is coming too? Wow, didn't quite see that coming…" Sayo mumbled to herself. Kawamura was always so quiet and kept to himself. He didn't seem like the type who would go to America for dancing.

"Don't sound so surprised, he's really serious about dancing," Yoshida shrugged his shoulders, knowing how she felt. Kawamura didn't look like the type who danced. And on top of that, he was really serious all the time.

"So, who's his partner going to be?" Sayo asked, taking the subject off her judgment. She was pretty curious about this part. And honestly, if it was going to be some American girl, she couldn't wait to see the two interact.

"I'm not sure, I think Boss will tell me in the email too," Yoshida shrugged his shoulders again. Who knew what kind of person Kawamura would end up paired with. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do something like that. He couldn't be paired up with just anyone. They had to be able to work with him in harmony, otherwise they would be terrible.

Before Sayo could continue on any subject, Yoshida's phone blared out a strange rhythm. The two stopped and moved away from the middle of the sidewalk so they weren't blocking it for others. Sayo watched as Yoshida flipped his phone open to read the alert it had given him. The long awaited email had finally come. Both of them held their breath as it loaded. They both read it in silence once it was completely loaded, which hadn't taken very long.

'_Yoshida-kun, I hope you made it to America with Tsukioka-chan safely. I have a nice apartment picked out for the two of you and it will be ready by the end of the month for you two to move in. Until then, please stay at the hotel. Kawamura-kun will be joining the two of you on the first of February, and will have his own apartment. _

_Now, the club you will be working at is called Club Vanguard, and it will be your usual act. Vanguard is located in the heart of downtown LA, so be careful on your way home. The dance studio you two will be using to practice is called 3__rd__ Street Dance Studio, and is located (obviously) on 3__rd__ street in a two story building, and both stories are outfitted with practice rooms. I need you to be there by 7:00 p.m. tonight, and meet with Kandi Bryan. She will be your guide and, later on, Kawamura's partner. So please get to know her well._

_Please be careful and be safe. Boss.'_

"Why did he sign it with boss…?" Sayo mumbled to herself, amused by the middle-aged man who owned the club and dance studio they both worked at.

"He's just that way…" Yoshida answered her question in a low voice, knowing exactly how she felt. "We'll need to get a map."

"Yeah," Sayo nodded her head in agreement. Neither of them knew where the two places were, so a map was a logical solution.

Yoshida pocketed his cell phone and the two continued on to search for a gas station. Once they found one, they were buying a map of the local area to figure out where they had to go. If they had to, they would go by taxi or bus. Otherwise, they were walking there. They came across a gas station that had a few semi trucks in the parking lot and figured there was bound to be a map in there. So, Yoshida led her into the gas station. Sayo was shocked. People were at the pumping, fueling their own cars themselves. She'd never have to do that in Japan. Things in America sure were different.

After they purchased their map, they sat down on a bench in a less populated area in order to study the map. It was several pages long, the first being an entire map of California. As they flipped through, more detailed maps of individual areas were on each page. Some of them even had more focused maps of bigger, more populated cities. Los Angeles was one of them. And in fact, it had several smaller maps, since there was so much to it. Yoshida used a pen to mark 3rd street and downtown Los Angeles. He figured the best way to get to the club was by taxi since they didn't have any form of an address to the place.

"Let's go find Vanguard first," Yoshida suggested, since the time was about 5:35 p.m. They hadn't wasted much time since they had received the email. "Maybe we'll be able to get there before a crowd does."

"Sure, but I doubt we'll miss the crowd," Sayo stood as well, shrugging her shoulders. She'd rather hit the club when the crowd did, so she knew how many people would be there when she sang at night.

"We better get a taxi," Yoshida walked over to the street to watch for a taxi to pass.

"We'll probably find one closer to the inner city," Sayo suggested, seeing him look down the road they were currently standing next, as if a taxi would just magically appear.

Yoshida stared down the road for a moment or so before realizing she was right. "I guess you're right…"

So, they headed back towards the population, and the streets were filled with bustling business people and cars were almost bumper to bumper waiting for the highway entrance ramp. Sayo was amazed at the amount of traffic. This must be what they called rush hour. Yoshida flagged down a taxi coming their way and they hopped in, hoping they weren't going to end up in the giant line of cars.

"Where to?" the driver asked, a tooth pick stuck in his teeth. He looked back at them in his rearview mirror.

"We need to get to Club Vanguard," Yoshida told the driver, unsure of if he would have to give more information. Although, he didn't really have any more information than that.

"Gotcha," the driver nodded his head and merged back into the flow of traffic. "You on a time crunch?" the driver asked while they sat at a red light. The cars either side of the road crossed with increasing speed.

"Kind of," Yoshida nodded his head.

"All right, then I'll steer clear of major traffic," the driver noted to himself. He had to make quick decisions in order to get the passengers where they needed to be in the quickest manner possible. He was used to this since he usually had high strung business people in his back seat, constantly checking their watches and tapping their feet.

Yoshida and Sayo just sat quietly in the back seat of the taxi, watching their surroundings as they changed from inner city to city limits, and then into downtown. The change was surprising, but the amount of people was not. Everything seemed to have a slightly darker aura to it. Sayo attributed it to the way of nightlife. People lined the sidewalks, glow in the dark sticks and necklaces on their bodies. It seemed everyone was getting ready for New Years.

The taxi driver stopped in front of a black building with red neon lights on the front of the building that read Vanguard LA. There was a large red double door, guarded by two large bouncers, who looked quite mean. There was a long line formed behind their red rope, branching from the left door, but no one in front of the right door.

The two got out of the taxi, and while Sayo admired the outside of the establishment, Yoshida paid the driver and thanked him for the ride. After the man pulled away, Yoshida walked over to Sayo's side. They both saw the size of the building. It was two stories high, and they could barely see a balcony on the right side of the building. To think they would be working at this place every other night. Sayo was completely stoked and nervous at the same time.

The two moved out of the street onto the sidewalk just in time before a large white limo pulled up in the street behind them. The driver exited the vehicle and opened the door for his passenger. Everyone in line turned to see the limo and began to freak out. Sayo and Yoshida didn't recognize the person, but apparently they were famous in some way. Otherwise the other people wouldn't care at all. The woman looked Sayo up and down as she stood in the door, then focused her attention on Yoshida. A small smirk tugged at her lips as she moved on, letting the rest of the people exit the car as well.

The woman and her entourage approached the bouncer standing in front of the right door. He checked Ids and a list he had been given by his superiors as the woman spoke. Sayo noticed the woman point back at the two of them, and became quite curious as to what they were saying. The bouncer let her and entourage in after a few seconds and closed the door behind them. Looking around for other people who might try to sneak in, and consulting his partner, he headed over towards Sayo and Yoshida.

"Excuse me," the bouncer started, stopping a few steps away from them. Sayo blinked at him, having a feeling that woman had said something to him. Yoshida moved his attention to the man who was now in front of them. He had been taking in the size and colors of the building.

"Yes?" Yoshida asked in a polite response to the man's greeting.

"The two of you have been invited in by Miss Taylor," the bouncer informed the two, referring to the woman who had just entered the club with an entourage of people.

"Ah, is that so?" Yoshida put on a delighted smile and the two of them followed the bouncer up to the door. "Um, is there any chance for us to meet with the owner, or manager of Club Vanguard?"

"Why is that?" the bouncer questioned curiously. Aside from being easy on the eyes, Sayo and Yoshida looked like completely normal people. Why would such normal looking people want to meet with the own of the club?

"Well, we have a job set up for us here," Yoshida began and the bouncer's face contorted even more in confusion. "Our boss in Japan set it up for us before we came here."

"Oh, you're the new Dj and his partner from Japan, huh?" the bouncer finally understood why they wanted to see the boss. He nodded his head, looking over the two in the light.

"Yes, I'm DJ Tama and this is my partner, Sa-chan," Yoshida introduced himself and Sayo, who seemed to be preoccupied with admiring the building once again…

"Well, I'll let you two in so you can get used to the place and I'll let the boss know you're here to see him," the bouncer turned to open the door behind him.

In the line next to them, Yoshida could here whispers coming from the girls in line. "New Dj?" "He's kinda cute…" And then he heard giggles.

"By the way, I'm Victor, but everyone calls me Vic," the bouncer, Vic, introduced himself properly to the two, since they would be seeing each other quite a bit soon.

"Nice to meet you, and thanks," Yoshida smiled at Vic and pushed Sayo into the club since she was still kind of dazed. It was all happening so fast. She still had her 2006 glasses on.

Once in, the two were greeted by the back end of a growing crowd of dancing people. Bright lights filled the ceiling, and changed from reds and blues to greens and purples. It was mostly the dance floor that was the focus on the main floor. The turntables for the DJ were at the opposite end of the room under the lights. Techno beats filled the room with a sound system programmed to perfection. Sayo and Yoshida headed over to the wall, looking for a place to possibly get a drink and sit for a minute or so.

It had only been a few moments after Sayo and Yoshida entered the club that a notice was made during the current song. "DJ Tama and Sa-chan, please meet the owner upstairs in private room one."

Sayo and Yoshida blinked a few times while searching for the stairwell, only to realize they were standing in front of it. The stairwell was hidden in the wall they were standing in front of. They headed up and took the first door on their left. That was private room one.

They closed the door behind them.

* * *

Almost an hour later, around 6:40 p.m., Sayo and Yoshida exited Club Vanguard the same way they had entered. Through the door on the right. Vic wished them a good night, and was looking forward to working with them. When they said they needed to get to 3rd street, Vic quickly got them a taxi with a driver who knew exactly where they were going. Luckily, they arrived at the dance studio five minutes before the specified time. They paid the driver and quickly entered the door to check in.

"How can I help you?" the secretary asked, hearing their footsteps as they approached her desk.

"Yes, we're looking for Kandi Bryan," Yoshida informed the secretary, leaning on her desk a little.

"Kandi? And who might you be?" the secretary asked with curious, pointed eyes. Not just anyone could get in here.

"I'm Tamaki Yoshida and this is my partner, Sayo Tsukioka," Yoshida introduced himself and Sayo as an answer to the woman's question. "We're the transfers from Japan."

"Oh, Mr. Yoshida, it's an honor to meet you," the secretary realized that she was talking to a former champion and felt she needed to correct her behavior. "I'll go get Kandi right now, please wait here." And she took off up the stairs by her desk.

"This place is so nice," Sayo mumbled to Yoshida, admiring the cleanliness of the studio foyer. The walls were a nice, light shade of yellow, and the floors were glossy wood. The front desk matched the walls and floors. Yellow and gold patterned love seats were placed by the window on the other side of the room as a waiting area. Music played softly in the background to keep people stimulated. There were some decorations and plaques on hung on the walls.

"Yeah, boss did a good job," Yoshida agreed, nodding his head and taking a quick look around the room.

The secretary came back down with a blonde woman who stood about 5'4" tall and had emerald green eyes. Her skin was a shade of tan, as all California girls were foreseen to be. However, she wasn't as tan as he had thought she would be. On the left side of her face, a braid of her hair was pulled back behind her ear and pinned in a circle into the rest of her hair, which she left down. She took one look at the two and a giant smile filled her face. She bounded down the stairs, passing up the secretary and jumping down the stairs that were left. (Kandi: http:/ akizakura9. deviantart. com/ gallery/ #/ d2oymi5 )

"Hi, you two must be the new dancers from Japan, I'm so excited to finally meet you, I'm Kandi Bryan," she spoke fast, her words almost running together completely. She was dressed in practice clothes. "I really am excited to meet a former champion such as yourself Yoshida-san, it truly is an honor. And you must be his new partner that he chose personally and then decided he wanted to come back onto the dance floor. I believe the name I saw was Tsukioka-san?"

Sayo was baffled, and could only manage to nod her head as an answer. Kandi took Sayo's hand in her own and shook it fervently. "Nice to meet you…" Sayo managed.

"Come on, I'll show you around the studio," And without letting them protest at all, Kandi turned around, grabbing both of their wrists, and drug them through the glass doors adjacent to the stairs. "There are three different practice rooms on this floor, each one equipped with a large selection of music by genre. So, depending on what type of music you are using, you choose which room you practice in accordingly. Upstairs is the same. Although, each room has a different set up to simulate different stage sets."

Sayo and Yoshida just listened to Kandi as she spoke. If they tried to talk they would miss something. Either the girl was really excited, or this was normal. Yoshida wasn't quite sure if she really wanted to know which it was. Sayo, on the other hand, was already imagining the silent, serious Kawamura meeting the spastic, loud Kandi. It would truly be something she wouldn't want to miss out on.

"By the way, the two of you are invited to the New Years party the boss is having tonight," Kandi informed them as she spun around on her heels in the middle of the hallway, a giant smile plastered on her face. "I can take you there, it starts soon."

Sayo and Yoshida only looked to each other for answers.

"Say," Kandi started again before they could answer her. "When did you two get here?"

"At six this morning," Yoshida answered as quickly as he could after hearing her question.

"Have you slept at all since?" Kandi asked again, curious about whether they'd rather go back to their hotel to get some sleep instead of go to the party.

"No," Sayo shook her head.

"Wow…" Kandi's eyes were wide open. "I'm surprised you're not tired yet…" Kandi mumbled to herself, shocked and impressed by their tolerance of the time change.

"A party sounds like fun," Yoshida told Kandi in an answer to her proposal before the subject of sleep came up.

"Oh, good, then we should get going, the place is kind of far from here," Kandi ushered the two back down the hallway they had come in and toward the front doors. The secretary had already left, so no one was in the front area. Kandi got in front of them to lead the way to her car.

The entire way to the party, Sayo wasn't sure if she was going to enjoy it, or regret it. But there was no turning back now…

_To be continued…_


	31. Chapter 25

_** A/N: Sorry it's been a long time, I've kind of been in a funk. And really busy with work. But I finally got another chapter done. Yay! Progress~**_

* * *

**Chapter 25: Kawamura, Meet Kandi**

Sayo and Yoshida were in the middle of moving into their apartment when Kawamura called Yoshida's phone. It was a call that would change his life. Kawamura's plane had just landed at LAX and he needed to know the address of their apartment so he could join them.

"_Hey, Kawamura, you finally in America?_"Yoshida answered his phone, holding it between his face and his shoulder as he lifted his suitcase up the stairs. Sayo was ahead of him with Kandi bringing up all of Sayo's luggage.

"_Shut up_, what's the address of the apartment?" Kawamura grumbled back, not appreciating the joking manner of his colleague/rival. He already had his luggage with him and was waiting for a taxi.

"I'll text it to you in a minute, got my hands full," Yoshida replied, not taking the reaction too seriously. He was used to it by now, having worked with Kawamura for years. The two were all too familiar with each others antics.

"Alright, don't hurt yourself," Kawamura made an attempt to joke back with Yoshida, as he usually did, and failed, as usual…

"I promise I won't," Yoshida continued on anyway, wanting to give the man a break since he had just gotten off a long flight. "I'll continue to be your number one opponent on the dance floor and make you work to the bone for that trophy." Kawamura could hear the smirk through Yoshida's voice. It made him want to punch something.

"_Yeah yeah_…" Kawamura hung up after that, not wanting anymore irritation.

* * *

About half an hour later, a taxi pulled up outside Yoshida and Sayo's new apartment building. Kawamura emerged from the back passenger seat and rounded to the back of the taxi to retrieve his luggage from the trunk of the vehicle. Once he had it all on the sidewalk, and had paid the driver, Kawamura sent a short text to Yoshida letting the other know he was downstairs. Not a minute later, Yoshida and Sayo came down to greet their colleague, a blond following behind them. The girl's hair almost looked like sunshine, it was so bright. At least to Kawamura, anyway. He wasn't quite used to seeing girls with blond hair.

"Kawamura, glad to see you made it in one piece," Yoshida smirked, patting the other man on the shoulder.

"Kawamura-san, it's good to see you again," Sayo greeted with a wide smile. Kawamura figured she was happy to see a familiar face.

"Good to see you too, Sayo-chan," Kawamura returned the greeting with a smile of his own.

"You're Kawamura Jiro?" the blond behind Sayo questioned, stepping up next to Sayo to get a good look at him.

"Yes, I am…" Kawamura was slightly confused by the way the girl had asked the question. He looked at her with his brows raised, waiting to hear what would come out of her mouth next.

"Wow, you're pretty good looking," the girl's lips twisted into a small smirk as she looked him over. Then, she extended her hand toward him. "I'm Kandi Bryan, your new partner."

Kawamura only looked at the girl as if she had another head, or perhaps purple skin. It was probably the comment she had made about him being good looking… Registering her introduction, he snapped back into reality and put on a blank mask. He cleared his throat and shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kandi-san."

"Oh please, just call me Kandi," Kandi smiled upon hearing his formal tone. She was a fun person, not someone who stuck completely to the rules after all. If it wasn't fun, she wasn't doing it. Boring is for old people.

"All right, Kandi," Kawamura corrected himself as she had requested, though he was reluctant to do so.

"You're up here across the hall from us," Yoshida turned around and motioned for Kawamura to follow him. Sayo and Kandi grabbed his luggage, as he and Yoshida were going in a different direction.

"We'll take your luggage up to the door, Kawamura-san," Sayo told him before he was out of earshot, and before he got suspicious of them handling his luggage without him saying anything to them.

"Ah, thanks," Kawamura smiled back at Sayo as he and Yoshida headed up before the girls did.

"_So, do you think you can handle an American girl?_" Yoshida asked Kawamura with a smirk on his face. He just knew how Kawamura preferred to have a partner that wasn't always bouncing off the walls. Unfortunately for Kawamura, Kandi was the type of person who had a lot of energy to burn. Yoshida had experienced that already…

"_I can handle anything_," Kawamura muttered back as a reply to Yoshida's half insult. The man may be a former champion, but he certainly wasn't any more of a man than he was himself.

"_I don't know man, that girl's got a lot of energy, and speaks at the speed of lightning_," Yoshida warned his colleague/rival. As much as he wanted to win, he knew that if they ever had to participate in a team event, Kawamura and Kandi would be the other pair they would work with. Harmony between the two in a pair was the key to success.

"_Either way, I can handle anything she tries to throw at me_," Kawamura responded with determination in his voice. Yoshida had to give it to him, he certainly had a lot of resolve.

"_I look forward to watching the two of you_," Yoshida smirked, knowing the two would definitely be a source of entertainment for him.

"_I hate being your source of entertainment, find someone else for the job_…" Kawamura told Yoshida in a sour tone. Whether he liked it or not, being a source of entertainment was out of his hands. Whatever one person found funny was completely up to them and was in no way controlled by someone else.

"_Don't worry, I'll try not to make it too obvious that I'm enjoying it_…" Yoshida tried to stop himself from chuckling at Kawamura's response.

They headed into the club house lobby and approached the help desk. Kawamura needed to get his key for his apartment, otherwise he couldn't get in. It took them a good fifteen minutes before the lady who was working that day could actually find all the correct paperwork and the actual key for his apartment. Kawamura was trying not to let it show that he was getting impatient and fed up with this woman. It was like she didn't want to do her job at all. Once the key was in his hands, Kawamura made complete haste in exiting the club house and getting back to his apartment to get his luggage inside. Another ten minutes and the two men were standing between their apartment doors.

"The girls must have gone inside," Yoshida shrugged, seeing that Kawamura's luggage was outside of his door but the girls were nowhere to be found.

"I'll be fine," Kawamura reassured Yoshida as he unlocked his apartment door.

"Alright, just holler if you need any help," Yoshida acknowledged Kawamura's wish for silence and alone time and headed into his and Sayo's apartment.

* * *

"So, Valentine's is in two weeks," Saya sighed. Another year, and still no boyfriend. What a miserable holiday. The stores had already began to sell Valentine's day products. Heart boxes filled with different kinds of chocolate, pink teddy bears with hearts that said 'I Love You' on them, the whole shebang. Some of it almost made her ill. However, she knew she had the chance this year. She knew Hayato well enough, and knew she had some feelings for him, but she'd be damned if she was the one to make the first move.

"Yeah, I've already got a plan for this year," Kiri smirked to herself.

"Oh yeah? What are you planning?" Mitsu eyed Kiri suspiciously, knowing the other was up to no good.

"I'm going to make some chocolate from scratch and give it to Tsuchi-kun," Kiri proudly placed a hand on her chest, showing just how confident she was with her plan.

"Just don't end up poisoning him, okay," Maki sighed, feeling the same dread as the other girls did. When Kiri was overconfident, something usually went wrong. Hopefully this time it wouldn't go horribly wrong.

"Be quiet, you'll jinx me!" Kiri pouted like a little kid.

"I hope it goes well, Ki-chan," Juri smiled at her pouting friend with kindness.

"Thanks Ju-chan," Kiri smiled back at Juri. She knew the other girls were only teasing, but they were partially right. She'd have to be careful and follow the directions perfectly so she didn't end up poisoning him for real.

It had already been a month since Sayo had left for America and the girls were already missing her. It was almost the first anniversary of the day the girls all met the guys. Currently, they were all sitting together at the park, not too far away from Tetsu and Minoru. They hadn't seen the guys in a while either. Valentine's day would be the perfect excuse for them all to get together again. At least this time they wouldn't have to worry about an awkward moment between Sayo and Ryu. Although, they figured he'd be quiet the entire time anyway.

"Well, what are your plans, Mi-chan?" Kiri whipped her head in Mitsu's direction with a challenging look playing her face.

"Me?" Mitsu raised an eyebrow at her friend. "I'm too cheap, I'll probably just buy some to give to Kou-kun," she shrugged her shoulders. This would only fuel Kiri's ego…

"Yeah, I don't have that much time this year, with work and school," Maki agreed with Mitsu. "I don't even know if I'll be able to see Takeda-kun…"

"Oh, don't say things like that, of course you'll be able to see him," Kiri tried to encourage Maki to be positive.

"Takeda-kun wouldn't miss the anniversary of when he first met you, he's too much of a romantic to do that…" Mitsu waved her hand, reassuring Maki that Takeda would, in fact, make an effort to see her on Valentine's.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment, or an insult…" Maki muttered, inwardly hoping that Mitsu was right.

* * *

"Ah, I almost forgot…" Kawamura blinked, standing in his apartment, hours after completely unpacking all of his luggage and getting everything all set. Before he left for the store, he'd stop by to tell them. So, he slid out his front door and knocked three times on Sayo and Yoshida's door across the hall.

It took a few seconds for one of them to answer it. "Yes?" Sayo poked her head out from behind the door curiously. Seeing Kawamura's face, a smile spread across her lips. "Ah, what can I do for you, Kawamura-san?" she opened the door more, but didn't move from the doorway.

"I'm supposed to let you know that the Boss has bought you a plane ticket for mid April," Kawamura informed Sayo, as he had been instructed to by their Boss before he left Japan. "He said that your cousin gave him the dates, and that you would know what the tickets were for."

"Oh," Sayo had a look of surprise on her face. She wasn't expecting Takeshi to talk to her Boss, nor was she expecting her Boss to buy the tickets for her. "Thank you for letting me know."

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you returning so soon for?" Kawamura's curiosity peaked after seeing her surprised expression.

"Oh, my cousin is going to propose to his girlfriend, and he wants me to help him do it so she's completely surprised," Sayo explained with a wide smile on her face. The fact that Takeshi wanted to marry Miku made her so happy. The two would share a wonderful marriage together, she was sure of it.

"Wow, you must be close," Kawamura nodded his head, understanding her smile now.

"Yes, I've always been close with my family," Sayo's smile changed from happy to sincere. He could tell she was beginning to miss them already.

"Well, I'm off to stock my fridge, so, if you'll excuse me," Kawamura bowed to her before turning around to leave the building.

"Oh, have fun Kawamura-san," Sayo waved to his back and slunk back into her shared apartment. She was greeted by two curious faces. "Yes?"

"What did he want?" Yoshida eyed her with his eyebrows up. Kandi only nodded her head.

"Oh, he told me that the Boss already bought my ticket for April," Sayo relaxed a bit and continued into the apartment towards the kitchen.

"Oh, so you're going back so soon?" Kandi asked with surprised face, following Sayo into the kitchen.

Yoshida only nodded his head and went back to the couch. It took him a moment to realize what exactly she had said. He spun around fast on the couch, listening.

"Only for a couple days or so," Sayo shrugged her shoulders, bending into the fridge to grab a can of tea.

"But why?" Kandi sounded sad, like a child who's parents were leaving for a year without any reason at all.

"My cousin wants me to help him propose to his girlfriend," Sayo answered Kandi's question with a smile, popping open the can with her finger.

"Oh," Kandi instantly felt better. She and Sayo had already had tons of fun and became friends just from practicing in the studio together. If Sayo were to leave so soon, Kandi would feel duped.

"I can't wait to see the look on Miku-san's face when Takeshi-kun reveals the ring…" Sayo had a dreamy look on her face as she envisioned how things would go between the two adults.

"Why does your cousin need you to help him propose?" Yoshida asked from the couch, his torso twisted around so he could look back at the girls in the kitchen. If he was a grown man, he wouldn't need help proposing by himself.

"Well, Miku-san can usually see through things easily, so he needs some help in order to make it a complete surprise for her," Sayo explained, knowing that people would generally not ask others to help them propose. "Otherwise she'd know it was coming."

"I see, so he's got a smart girl," Yoshida nodded his head, understanding the logic behind the plan.

"Takeshi-kun asked me to help him before we left Japan," Sayo continued, feeling that Yoshida should know this. After all, she hadn't told him about it before they left Japan.

"Hmm," Kandi and Yoshida both nodded their heads.

"I agreed, since he was doing me a favor anyways…" Sayo trailed off, heading towards the couch taking a long drink of her tea.

"What favor?" Yoshida faced forward on the couch again and raised an eyebrow in question to her previous statement.

"I asked him if he would come over to do any photo work, if there ever was any," Sayo explained lowly, sipping her tea lightly.

"Your cousin is a photographer?" Kandi smiled widely, flopping herself on the floor in front of the two. "That's way cool."

"You should see all the magazines I've been in…" Sayo muttered between her sips.

* * *

Saya was lounging on the couch in her and Mitsu's dorm when her phone vibrated in her pocket. Wondering who would be contacting her at this time of the day, she pulled it out to see what it was about. The screen indicated she had just received a new email. Curiously, she opened her inbox to see who the sender was. It's needless to say that she was surprised to see Sayo's name in the box. Now she just had to know what the message said. It seemed like forever while the message loaded, though it really was only a second or so…

'_Hey, can you buy some chocolate and give it to Ryu-kun for me? I know you're getting some for Yabuki-kun, so I figured it wouldn't be too much trouble. I'll even send you the money for it if you want. Thanks a bunch.'_

"Wow, even all the way in America she still wants to be nice to him…" Saya mumbled under her breath after she read the message. She quickly typed in a reply. Honestly, no matter how hard Sayo tried to runaway, it seemed that she would never be able to escape her own feelings.

"So, are you going to get Yabuki-kun some lovers chocolate?" Mitsu asked suggestively, waggling her eyebrows at her roommate. That was exactly what she was going to buy for Hyuga.

"No," Saya's brows instantly furrowed hearing the word 'lovers'. That was hardly the word to describe the relationship the two of them shared. However, she knew that, in the back of her mind, she wouldn't mind if it was the word to describe their relationship…

"Hmm…" Mitsu backed off, seeing the look on Saya's face, and her fingers moving at high speed. "So it's just friendship chocolate, huh?"

"Yep, just friendship," Saya nodded her head, returning her expression to normal, and hitting the send button on her phone.

"So, who was that to?" Mitsu asked, not a single hint of suggestiveness in her voice.

"Sayo," Saya replied instantaneously. It was basically second nature for her, since most of her emails in the past have been to and from Sayo. "She wants me to give some friendship chocolate to Odagiri-kun for her."

"Oh, she's such a sweet girl, really," Mitsu slouched into the back of the sofa. "All the way in America, she still wants to give him some chocolate…"

"That's what I thought…" Saya agreed, the skepticism lacing her voice mildly.

"She's really got it bad and doesn't even know it…" Mitsu smirked to herself, feeling a bit sorry for her friend. Being in love is a hard thing. And it certainly is difficult. Not realizing it can make things even harder.

"Glad I'm not the only one who noticed…" Saya joined Mitsu in slouching into the sofa and gazed at the ceiling blankly.

"Trust me Saya-chan," Mitsu started, a tone of obviousness in her voice. "I think just about everyone has noticed it except for the two involved."

"You're probably right," Saya half agreed and half lied. She knew from her conversation with Odagiri Ryu the day after graduation that he certainly had realized something, but hadn't really wanted acknowledge it. And Sayo was the same exact way. However, Saya gave Odagiri some credit, since he was willing to admit he'd realized something. Sayo just wanted to ignore it completely, act like it wasn't happening.

"You know I'm right," Mitsu sat up a bit, strengthening her argument. "Juri knows, Maki knows, even Kiri knows, and she's not that bright…"

"Gee, way to be nice to your own friend…" Saya muttered.

"Just saying…" Mitsu shrugged her shoulders. "I'm pretty sure that the guys have noticed it on Odagiri-kun's end as well, they just don't want to say anything."

"More than likely that's the case," Saya agreed completely. "Hayato-kun has told me that Odagiri-kun will go completely silent when Sayo is mentioned."

"See, that just proves we're right," Mitsu smirked in victory, feeling proud of herself.

"Right…" Saya pretended to agree with her. Saya had a feeling that Odagiri had a jumbled mixture of feelings he wanted to express to Sayo. His anger about her leaving without telling him. His jealousy of her working with DJ Tama. His worries about her safety in America. His possible love for her. Or something along those lines anyway…

Saya honestly had no idea whatsoever about what went on in that guy's mind. And frankly, she really didn't want to.

* * *

Take had taken the initiative to make this year's Valentine's day special. He wanted to have a nice dinner with Maki-chan, and to spend the day with her. Even if it meant taking off time from school and work. It was a special day for him. It marked the first time he had ever gotten anything from her. The whole week was special, since it was the anniversary of the first time they had met. In fact, it was a special week for both the groups.

Take had sent a message to each of the guys, reminding them of the meaning of the upcoming week. Not like they would forget about it anyways… But Take had a plan. He thought they should all get together one day during the week and have a good time. Just like they always had before. He also asked each of them to send suggestions of places to meet up. However, none of them had been any help in picking a place for them to meet up. Most of their suggestions were to places they had already been to. Take didn't want to recycle ideas, he wanted something fresh and new. Those guys weren't any help whatsoever.

It just figured that he'd have to come up with the venue by himself at a time like this. Ryu had been the only one who hadn't replied to his mail. Maybe he was in class or at work and couldn't reply. Take didn't mind, he understood the situation. As he was thinking about it, the reply came.

'_Bowling' _was all it said.

That was it, Ryu was a genius. Take remembered back when they were planning the goukon. Their original idea was to go bowling with the girls, but they changed their minds last minute without telling Yankumi. That was how they ended up almost getting caught by the vice principal. And how they got caught by the cops for forgetting to pay… Why hadn't any of the other guys thought of that?

Either way, now he truly had a plan. They were going bowling for the anniversary. Take figured they could pick teams and bowl against each other for fun. See who had the best teamwork, and who was a sore loser. He had to smile to himself at his brilliant plan. There were only a few things left to do. He had to invite the girls, and pick a bowling alley that was in the middle of everyone so it wasn't a long trip for anyone. He couldn't wait.

So, he sent out invitation emails to all the girls first. Then he sent them to the guys.

'_Hey, it's that time of year again. Meet me at the Shirokin Bowling Alley on Valentine's Day for a fun time. Think of it as goukon number two, only the plans are that of goukon number one. Hopefully this time there won't be any involvement with cops. See you then.'_

All he had to do now was wait for RSVPs and Valentine's Day to come.

* * *

Sayo opened the text message just before she got into bed for the night. She kind of felt bad for sending Saya a message practically in the middle of the day over there. For all she knew, Saya could be in class. However, she was proven wrong when Saya replied to her rather quickly.

'_I can do it, no problem. Friendship chocolate right? You don't have to worry about paying for it, no sweat. Get your rest, it's late right?'_

Sayo smiled warmly at the message. It made her feel a whole lot better about things. She felt terrible that she wouldn't be able to be there for the anniversary of their meeting the guys. She shut her phone, placed it on the nightstand next to her bed, and then climbed in under the comforter.

As she lay there, she found herself unable to take her mind off of Valentine's day. With what Kandi had told her about how Americans celebrated the holiday, Sayo could only describe the feeling as culture shock. Americans were so different from Japanese people. Anyone could give chocolate on Valentine's. Sayo wasn't used to that. She had a feeling that she would encounter people giving her Valentine's day cards and gifts. How would she react to them?

This would be an interesting Valentine's Day.


	32. Sayo's American Adventures 1

_A/N: Sorry it's been a while. I've been in a really bad funk, having a hard time writing the fillers. And I just realized today that it's been over three years since I started this story. I really need to finish. I hope you guys enjoy this new installment. Enjoy~_

* * *

**Sayo's American Adventures #1 : The Rush of Valentine's**

So, just like that, Valentine's was finally here. Two weeks passed in a flash of light. Chocolate had been bought. Plans had been made. Let the confessions commence!

* * *

The two groups had met up at Shirokin Bowling Alley, ready to have some fun together. Take noticed that Sayo wasn't there, and Ryu and Hayato were acting a bit weird around Saya. He couldn't help but wonder what happened. Why wasn't Sayo there?

"I see we're short one person," Tsuchi commented as they all strapped their bowling shoes to their feet as they sat by their lanes.

"Yeah, where's Sayo-chan?" Take asked, grateful to Tsuchi for being the one to bring it up. He didn't want to feel awkward about asking. For all he knew, she could be competing in a competition this very minute.

"Oh, Sayo is…" Mitsu looked around at the other girls, unsure of how to continue.

"She's in America," Ryu stated, not a single emotion in his voice at all. His eyes were closed as he sat up straight in the plastic seat, tacky bowling shoes taking the place of his comfortable boots.

"What?" Take's head shot towards Ryu, worry covering his face.

"When did this happen?" Tsuchi furrowed his eyebrows, feeling completely out of the loop. Technically, he and Take were the only ones who didn't know.

"She left on the first of the year," Kiri informed her boyfriend, sadness slipping into her expression a little. It had been two months, but the girls still missed Sayo greatly.

"We didn't tell you because she asked us not to," Maki continued to explain so Take and Tsuchi would understand.

"We wanted to tell you, honest," Juri chimed in, feeling the sadness all the other girls were feeling.

"But we promised her that we wouldn't say anything to you…" Mitsu finished off the explanation.

"I only knew because she went with DJ Tama, and the club had a countdown until the day they left," Hyuga explained himself. He was the only one who was mostly unfazed about the whole thing. He did miss them, but it wasn't a big deal to him. They were coming back.

"I told Hayato-kun and Odagiri-kun about it at the last minute," Saya buckled under the pressure. They were all talking about that day. She felt she had to say something, to defend herself and the other two who were being completely silent.

"I see…" Tsuchi nodded his head in understanding. Hayato and Ryu didn't have to say anything.

The groups were silent for a moment. Cheers and other various noises filled the air around them from all the other bowlers in the alley. That reminded Take of why they were there in the first place. Taking in a deep breath, he stood up and moved to stand under the scoreboard.

"Well, we're here because this is a special week," Take started with a smile on his face, trying to bring the focus off of Sayo' absence. "We're bowling today."

Everyone kind of just silently looked up at him and listened patiently. He was being a good host.

"It's Valentine's day," Take reminded them.

"Oh, that's right," Maki's eyes widened and she began to dig around in her bag. She pulled out a neatly wrapped box, the paper color was red, and had a darker red ribbon tied around the box for accent. She stood from her seat and walked over to him boldly. "These are for you," she told him as she held the box out toward him.

"Wooooo~" the guys, well not Ryu, but the rest of them cheered immaturely, eyeing the couple suggestively. Honestly, they acted as if this was the first time she had given him chocolate for Valentine's day. Granted, last year they didn't really mean anything…

"Thanks Maki-chan," Take smiled like a little kid on his birthday. He accepted the chocolate but didn't open it. "I'll open it later, okay?"

"Yeah," Maki nodded her head and sat back down, embarrassed that she did that in front of all the others. And that they made a big scene of it.

"So, I figured, since there's too many of us to play in the same game, we should play in partner teams," Take began his explanation of how they'd play today. "We'll each pick a partner, and take turns when bowling." There was no real reaction from the others. "The teams will play against each other."

"Oh, so we partner up and see who has the best teamwork," Saya understood Take's plan. She had a feeling this would be fun and agonizing at the same time.

"Right, so let's partner up," Take prompted with a nod of his head. "I choose Maki-chan to be my partner."

"Sure," Maki smiled, nodding her head in agreement.

"Mitsu-chan, be my partner," Hyuga smiled as he mock begged her.

"If I must," she played along, agreeing with him in a dramatic tone of voice. The two rebounded from that with wide smiles on their faces.

"Ne, Tsuchi-kun, be my Valentine," Kiri smirked as she held her chocolate out to him.

"Of course," Tsuchi smirked back at her, accepting her chocolate, and the partnership.

"We are so gonna win this," Kiri mumbled in his ear, smirk ever present.

"Saya-chan, want to be my partner?" Hayato asked Saya, a smile on his face. It made him seem kind to the naked eye. However, the guy was fiercely competitive, especially with his best friend, so it was on like Donkey Kong.

"Sure," Saya shrugged her shoulders, agreeing to be his partner. She knew she didn't want to be Ryu's partner, that would just be awkward and end up with both her and Ryu getting death glances from Hayato. Out of jealousy and competitiveness.

Seeing Maki and Kiri give their chocolate away kept her mind on giving Hayato her chocolate and giving Ryu Sayo's chocolate. She knew it was going to get awkward when she gave Ryu Sayo's chocolate. She'd certainly seem like she was playing the field to other people.

"Well, since Sayo isn't here, and Misawa-kun isn't here, I'll be your partner, Odagiri-kun," Juri kindly suggested to Ryu after everyone else was paired up with their love partner. Well, mostly all of them were love partners. The only ones who hadn't gotten together yet were Saya and Hayato.

"Fine with me," Ryu shrugged, watching everyone else buzzing around, ready to have fun in a competitive arena.

"All right, we're all teamed up now," Take turned around to the keyboard and began entering in team names. "Ryu and Juri-chan can go first," Take explained before the team name popped up on the scoreboard. JuRyu was what had been put in.

"That's interesting," Hayato smirked, seeing the team name. "Wonder what ours will be…"

"Next will be Tsuchi and Kiri-chan," Take announced just before the name appeared on the scoreboard. TsuKi.

"Oh, now that's cool," Mitsu smirked at the hidden meaning in putting the two names together.

"Yeah, you guys are team Moon," Saya nudged Kiri with her elbow playfully.

"Proud of it, too," Kiri boasted, unaffected by their taunts.

"Third will be me and Maki-chan," Take continued to announce the line up. TaMaki.

Maki leaned over to Saya and whispered in her ear, "Isn't that DJ Tama's given name?"

Saya only nodded her head in answer to her question. She really didn't want any of that to be brought up anymore. It would put her day off.

"Fourth will be Hyuga and Mitsu-chan," Take continued as KouMi appeared on the scoreboard. Smiles went around the room. It was always fun to put names together and see what came of it. "And the last team to go will be Hayato and Saya-chan," Take finished off as the name SaAto appeared in the final player's name slot on the scoreboard.

"Wait, why are we last?" Hayato questioned with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Because, if you had to go after Ryu you wouldn't be able to do your best," Take explained calmly, knowing how competitive Hayato was with Ryu.

"I would not," Hayato argued, crossing his arms over his chest like a little kid.

"It happens all the time when you two play against each other in pool," Tsuchi chimed in, stabbing Hayato's ego with a knife.

"I'm not that great at pool…" Hayato furrowed his eyebrows at the mentioning of his and Ryu's tallies from the pool hall.

"Whatever," the others shrugged off his behavior.

And with that, the game began.

* * *

Sayo was extremely nervous. All day she had seen guys walking with girls hand in hand. Guys giving girls chocolate, girls giving guys chocolate. There were heart shaped cookies in the lobby of the dance studio for everyone to share. One of the couples who danced together in their studio along with them had an event that morning as well. The guy brought a giant red teddy bear, dotted with pink hearts and a purple ribbon tied in a bow around it's neck for her, a big heart box of assorted Russell Stover's chocolate, two small dachshund plushies that had pink hearts all over them, and a red ring box that hid a rather large diamond ring just for her. All of that for one girl.

It was the first truly American thing she had seen. "_It'd be more romantic if he'd done it on White Day…_" she muttered to herself when she witnessed the event. Actually, she muttered it exactly when he dramatically proposed to her and exclaimed his undying love for her. Yoshida had heard her and only smirked at her.

After that died down, Kandi had been going around giving chocolate to almost everyone in the studio. Sayo had been completely surprised when Kandi came up to her and placed a small heart shaped piece of chocolate on a stick in her hand.

"Kan-chan, I don't swing that way…" Sayo tried not to cringe at the thought.

"Sa-chan," Kandi began, chuckling at Sayo's perception of the gesture. "Not all Valentine offerings are romantic."

"I know that," Sayo defended herself, still not quite understanding the way Americans celebrated the holiday.

"Friends give friends chocolate, whether they're male or female," Kandi continued to explain, taking Sayo's hand and placing the chocolate in her hand. "We don't have White Day over here, so this is all we get."

Sayo took in the explanation and felt she understood a bit. In America, Valentine's was combined with White Day to make the perfect single day for romance. A day for men and women alike to express hidden feelings, or feelings that were out in the open. It was kind of a big deal, since all the stores had special displays for just the one day. She smiled at Kandi and accepted the chocolate. "Thanks, Kan-chan."

"Not a problem, Sa-chan," Kandi smiled back and took off to continue to spread the love.

"_So, you experienced your first girl given chocolate on Valentine's, huh?_" Yoshida walked over to Sayo, eyeing the chocolate in her hand.

"_Yes, and I have to admit it's a tad awkward,_" Sayo chuckled a little bit, closing her hand around the chocolate pop.

"Well, we better get to practicing, you've got a month and a half before you get a small break," Yoshida told her, making the six weeks she had before her flight seem like they were already gone.

"Yes, we better…" Sayo nodded her head, understanding what he meant. She placed the chocolate inside her bag and hopped over to him, ready to dance.

* * *

It was Kiri's second time turn to bowl. Everyone sat behind her, chatting and not paying too much attention to her as she tried her best to concentrate on what she was doing. Juri and Ryu were the only two sitting by each other that weren't talking.

"So Juri-chan, how's your relationship going?" Saya asked her, turning her head away from Hayato, who was being completely annoying at the moment.

"Oh, it's going really well, we've had quite a few dates," Juri answered with a bright smile on her face. "We're actually meeting up later to have dinner tonight."

"Oh, did you make those plans?" Mitsu jumped in, hearing the words relationship and dates.

"I did…" Juri looked down at her lap in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

"Wait, Juri-chan's dating someone?" Take directed his attention to the conversation happening to his right. This also caused the other guys to look back at the girl in question.

"Yep, they've been together for a couple months, too," Mitsu smirked and nodded her head, feeling proud of her friend.

"Who is he?" Hyuga asked, too curious for his own good. Just like a cat…

"Misawa Hiro-kun…" Juri answered in a squeaky voice, still staring down at her lap.

"How did you meet Misawa?" Hayato looked over at her curiously. He never would have thought that those two would meet coincidentally.

"Sayo-chan set us up on a blind date…" Juri admitted, completely embarrassed now. It couldn't get any worse than this.

"I'm glad to hear that you're doing good with him, Sayo did the right thing," Saya patted Juri on the back for encouragement.

For a little bit the group mumbled about how surprised they were to hear that Juri was dating Misawa from 3-D. However, it didn't take too long before they were caught up in the game as the scores began to get closer. Juri had noticed that each time Sayo was mentioned, Ryu became very introvert and kept quiet for a while afterwards. Juri couldn't blame him for it, though. The two of them had been through so much, for her to just leave like that was a bit cruel. Juri knew that if she were in their shoes, she'd be torn up from the inside out with so many different feelings.

"Odagiri-kun," Juri started in a low voice, trying to get his attention and not the others'. He glanced over at her a second or two later. "Please don't be mad at Sayo-chan."

Ryu was surprised. Where was this coming from all of a sudden? "Why is that?"

"Because, she's just as scared as you are," Juri answered his question. She side glanced him and saw a look of slight confusion on his face. "I saw your expression at the airport when your eyes met hers…"

"…" Ryu wasn't sure if he was going to like what she was going to say, but he let her continue anyways.

"I can tell you worry about her, and you're unsure of your feelings, but please don't be mad," Juri told him, feeling tears tugging at the corners of her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad," he told her to reassure her. "I'm just confused about the whole thing."

"Oh," Juri nodded her head, feeling that he was just being kind. Either way, it was her turn to bowl.

* * *

That night, Sayo was asked by a total of fifteen guys if she would be their Valentine. She politely declined them. Why? Because she knew that most of them wanted to get in her pants. The rest of them were just playing a game. Some even asked her if she had chocolate for them. She only laughed at them and told them she didn't. Those were the ones who were playing a game. The next day they boast to their friends about how many chocolates they had gotten the previous day, and try to feel better about their looks. She did, however, accept the chocolate offered to her by guys who were giving out chocolate to girls they found beautiful. There were about twenty of those.

She told herself she would never tell Saya that she accepted chocolate from other guys who she didn't even know. From guys who told her that she was beautiful. Yoshida also gave her some chocolate. She had smiled at him and accepted it. Kandi had ran around to almost every single person she knew to give them some of her chocolate pops. She even attempted to give some to Kawamura. However, he declined her outright. So she stuck her tongue out at him and called him a party pooper, then continued on to the next person.

At the end of the day, Sayo figured she'd be able to handle another American Valentine's Day.


	33. Chapter 26

_**A/N: So, it's been a looong while since I've updated this... But,the good news is, I finally finished another chapter! One step closer to domination! Enjoy!**_

* * *

**Chapter 26: The Art of Engagement**

It seemed amazing to Sayo how fast a month and a half could pass by her. She had been practicing day and night with Yoshida, only chatting with Kandi and sleeping when they weren't practicing. She was truly grateful for the break. However, Yoshida gave her strict instructions to practice while she had spare time while she was away. The week after she was to return they had their first competition in America. She was extremely nervous, but extremely excited at the same time. How would they fare against natives when they were foreign?

Sayo had to find amusement, though. It wasn't hard since Kawamura and Kandi were also practicing for the very same competition. Although, the way those two got along, hardly any practicing happened… Like cat and mouse, those two. If he wasn't pointing out how she needed to work on her posture, she was thwarting him back about his lack of emotion and constant downer attitude. Sayo always laughed when they fought. Over such petty things, too. Well, her posture is important, but Kandi has a hard time listening to guys. Maybe she'd hint at Kandi herself, just to ease Kawamura a little bit…

Thinking about going back home made her think of seeing her friends. Friends included Ryu. Thinking about seeing him made her restless. She had a hard time sleeping for a week before she was actually to go back. Her head was always jolting from thought to thought, and butterflies paraded in her stomach most days. She had tried to contact Saya a few times to help ease her mind, but hadn't actually gotten in touch with her dear cousin. It made her worry a little.

Sayo had gotten her tickets in the mail two weeks before she was to leave. The flight out was dated for April 9th and the return flight was dated for the 13th. She'd have about three days there before having to return. It may be short, but she'd enjoy it to the fullest.

* * *

Takeshi stood in the studio, thinking about the current set. Everything was perfect for his plan. Saya and the rest of his staff were there to help set up the atmosphere of a real photo shoot. He had already briefed Saya and his staff about his plan. He would have to tell Sayo when she got there, but while she was away from Miku. Miku was due to arrive any minute now. Man, where was Sayo?

* * *

Sayo had just gotten off her plane. She felt as if she were late. However, Takeshi hadn't told her she needed to be there at a certain time, so she guessed she was okay on that end. Still, she was super excited to see them again, and about the situation. She couldn't stop herself from feeling rushed and being in a hurry to get there. So, she snuck her way up to baggage claim, hoping to be the first one from her flight to retrieve her luggage. After that, she hailed a taxi and headed to the studio.

* * *

"Takeshi-kun, I'm here now," Miku called to him in greeting as she walked toward him. She had a bag in her hand and wasn't wearing any make-up. She only had on a pair of jeans, flip flops and a white t-shirt. She was ready to become the model he had told her she was going to be today.

"Miku-chan, I'm glad you're here," Takeshi smiled, turning to greet her properly, face to face. His smile changed to a smirk when he saw her attire. Oh yeah, she had no idea what was going on. He'd get her good.

"I'll head back to get ready for the first set," Miku wasted no time chatting. All she knew was that she was a model today, and needed to get her hair and make-up done.

"All right, I'll be waiting here," Takeshi nodded his head, not wanting to give anything away. All he had to do now was wait for Sayo. Who knew, if this went right, he'd have the perfect situation for a part of his plan.

Miku walked into the back rooms to find Saya being made up as well. "Saya-chan."

Aihara backed away from Saya to allow the younger woman to turn her head. Saya's eyes widened in excitement when she saw Miku standing there with a wide smile on her face. "Miku-san, how are you?"

"I've been really good," Miku smiled kindly as she sat down next to the younger girl, dropping her bag next to the chair. "I'm so excited to do this for him, I hope he wins the contest."

"Yeah, me too," Saya agreed, turning her head back to Aihara so she could finish her hair and make-up, and so she'd stop glaring at her.

"All right Miku-san, are you ready?" Fujiwara asked as she approached Miku's chair, lash curler in one hand, powder puff in the other. Miku could have almost sworn the expression on the make-up artists' face was devilish.

"Oh, sure," Miku smiled and nodded, pretending not to notice the evil on the woman's face and relaxed in the chair. She was now under Fujiwara's care. Miku trusted her though, because Takeshi did. He wouldn't have hired her if he didn't trust her.

"Here we go," Fujiwara announced as she prepared to make the first touch ups.

* * *

An hour or so later, Sayo's cab pulled up outside the studio. She quickly paid the cab driver and unloaded her luggage. She was so worried that she was late she couldn't stand still. Taking a few steps toward the building, she stopped on the third one for a moment. She inhaled deeply, holding for a few seconds, and then exhaled with her eyes closed. Feeling a bit more relaxed, she opened her eyes and stared down the building with determination. This was supposed to be a surprise for Miku. Takeshi had asked her to do this as a favor. She promised herself that this would be the greatest act she'd ever perform. With that in mind, she set forward into the building once more.

She had to wonder, though. How was he planning to pull this off?

* * *

"So, the first scenario is 'Family Reunion'," Takeshi informed everyone before they took their places and started doing anything unnecessary. Everyone nodded their heads and began to take their places. Saya headed out to the middle of the green screen they were using as their background so Takeshi could manipulate it.

Miku was allowed to return back to the dressing rooms for finishing touches to be applied. She was dressed in a printed blue baby doll tee with spaghetti straps, a white knit bolero over the top of the tee, and a pair of blue skinny jeans covering her legs. Her right wrist had two gold bangles on it, and her feet were covered by a pair of purple flats.

Saya, on the other hand, had on a white t-shirt that had some words printed on the front under a black biker jacket and a short jean skirt covering part of her legs. Takeshi had picked out a pair of brown knee high boots for her to wear, accompanied with a pair of black nylon knee-highs that reached to just above the top of the boots, so they peeked out a bit. She also had on a silver pinky ring on her left hand and a silver bracelet on her right wrist.

The only person missing now was Sayo.

Just before anyone could make any preparations, the doors on the left side of the room opened, letting in the bright light of the outside. A black silhouette of a girl lugging along a suitcase stood in the middle of the bright light. The girl moved inward, everyone gazing over at the doors, wondering who it was. Takeshi, knowing exactly who it was and the reaction that would take place in mere seconds, readied himself behind his camera, finger on the trigger.

"Sorry I'm so late you guys," the girl called. Immediately, Saya recognized the voice and a smile spread across her face like wildfire. Sayo came into full view as one of the crew members shut the door behind her. She was dressed in a white, with grey smoke pattern, boat neck ¾ length sleeved shirt under a red-violet sleeveless cardigan, a pair of flare jeans, and a pair of original Chuck Taylor's. She was pulling her smallest suitcase along with her.

"Sayo!" Saya exclaimed happily, so glad to see her dear cousin once again. Seeing Saya, Sayo let go of her suitcase handle where she stood, and without any other thought, rushed over to her cousin.

"Saya!" Sayo smiled as she lunged her body toward Saya, both their arms extended towards each other. The two ended up in a bear hug, eyes squeezed shut.

It took about five seconds for Miku to realize what was happening, and who had just entered the room. Seeing Sayo, a smile spread across her face as well. She didn't hesitate and headed toward the two girls. She came in around them and hugged them both with her back to the green background they stood on. The whole time, Takeshi was snapping photos, left and right. He was hoping for a perfect opportunity like this. It was the true essence of a family reunion.

"Okay, that was great," Takeshi smirked as he stood upright from behind his camera.

"So, what's the next scenario?" one of his crew members asked from behind him.

"Next on the list is 'Pajama Party'," Takeshi informed the guy, letting the guy prepare the next outfits for the girls.

Saya and Sayo unlocked themselves from their bear hug, still smiling. Sayo turned to Miku. "Hey Miku-san, it's so good to see you again."

"Likewise, Sayo-chan," Miku nodded her head, a large smile still on her face as well.

"Welcome back Sayo-chan," Takeshi greeted his cousin as he walked toward the women in the middle of the room. A smile was on his face.

"It's great to be back," Sayo returned the smile and gave him a small hug. "So, I guess I entered at the perfect moment, huh?"

"You got it, that was a great opportunity," Takeshi nodded his head, mentally commending himself for his own genius.

"Time to get changed for the next scenario," Saya noted, and Miku walked back to the dressing rooms with her.

Sayo stayed out with Takeshi before she went back to change. "So, what's the plan?" she whispered, inquiring about the scenarios they'd been mentioning.

"Okay, so the story is that I'm entering a contest a friend of mine from University told me about," Takeshi began to explain. It had to be something that Miku wouldn't find fishy. "A photography contest to see who can capture the best moments in a certain scenario."

"Okay, I'm with you so far," Sayo nodded her head, able to follow that it was a fake contest.

"There's six scenarios," Takeshi held up six fingers. "Family reunion, pajama party, rock star or famous, prom night, firework festival, and the final one will be proposal."

"Nice way to work it in," Sayo waggled her eyebrows at him.

"Thanks," he smirked back at her and signaled that she should probably get going to the dressing room.

"Oh, could someone grab my suitcase?" Sayo asked Takeshi before she started back.

"Yeah, I'll have someone get it," Takeshi nodded his head.

This would be a long photo shoot.

* * *

Hayato had been working a lot of overtime recently, so his boss decided to let him leave early for the day. He'd been a bit sluggish from his lack of sleep. Going to bed late and getting up early truly is a recipe for sluggish behavior. However, the other day he had been surprised by Saya when she showed up to have lunch with him. He sighed remembering the conversation they had. His lack of energy made the walk home seem that much longer. He was still pondering on whether or not he should tell Ryu what Saya had told him. It was today, after all. She'd be here for at least a day more or so. Still, it was hard to bring up the subject around the guy…

Just as Hayato opened the door to his and Ryu's apartment, he was greeted by the smell of hot ramen. Instantly he perked up, his stomach suddenly deciding it was time to eat. This was curious, since Ryu hardly cooked a lot. Was it really Ryu cooking ramen?

"Tadaima," Hayato called as he slipped out of his sneakers, entering the living room and peeking into the kitchenette.

"Okaeri," Ryu mumbled, sitting at the table, a small bowl of ramen in front of him.

Hayato didn't say anything back because he saw a young girl in the kitchenette. His eye began twitching. What the hell!? Who was this girl in their apartment? Why hadn't Ryu told him anything about her? Didn't he have Sayo already? Hayato couldn't bring himself to say anything, and therefore was being too silent.

Ryu peered over at his friend, and saw the confused look on his face. A small smirk tugged at his lips, knowing what was probably going through his mind. So, Ryu got up from his seat, before touching his ramen, and decided to tell Hayato about the girl.

Hayato stuttered, making no sense of himself at all. "Get a hold of yourself," Ryu harshly whispered to the stuttering Hayato. Hayato stopped moving his mouth for a moment, and found himself slowly calming down.

"Who is she?" Hayato jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, referring to the girl in the kitchenette standing over the stove.

"She's the daughter of one of our neighbors," Ryu shrugged, trying not to talk too loud.

"And why is she here in our apartment, over the stove, making ramen?" Hayato glared at Ryu in an accusing way.

"Because her mother sent her over here with it as a gift for us," Ryu explained calmly. "When I told her I don't really cook, she said she'd make it for me…"

"Oh, that explains a lot," Hayato finally had his head on right. It made sense that this girl would want to cook for Ryu. What girl wouldn't?

"So, why are you home early?" Ryu peered pointedly at his roommate/best friend.

"Boss sent me home early, said I needed a bit of a break from all the work I've been doing lately," Hayato told Ryu, shrugging off his coat. The wind was quite strong on his way home. Good thing he had brought it with him just in case.

"I see," Ryu nodded and headed back to the table to eat his lunch.

"Oh, Yabuki-san, I'm glad I made enough," the young girl greeted with a warm smile as she made her way to the table with another small bowl of ramen in her oven mitt covered hands.

"Ah, thanks," Hayato bowed slightly as he made his way to the table as well, his stomach growling at him in protest of starvation.

"You probably don't know my name, I'm Nagasaki Haruna," the young girl bowed, properly introducing herself to Hayato.

"Oh, nice to meet you Haruna-chan," Hayato nodded his head as he sat down to eat.

"Well, I've done what I came to do, so, if you'll excuse me," Haruna bowed courteously and made her way to the door to leave.

"Haruna-san," Ryu called just before she left. She turned to him with curiosity on her face. "Thanks for the ramen."

"Ah," her face lit up and she smiled largely. "Not a problem at all." She bowed once more and left the apartment.

Silence and slurping of noodles filled the apartment for a few minutes. It seemed that they were both quite hungry… The silence became too much for Hayato to handle, so he decided quickly that he'd tell Ryu about what Saya said to him.

"Ne, Ryu," he started, picking some noodles up from the bowl with his chopsticks and blowing on them.

"Hm?" Ryu inclined, mouth full of noodles and broth.

"I had lunch with Saya-chan the other day," he began, debating on whether he should break into the subject slowly or just get it out there didn't say anything, his mouth was still full of noodles and broth. So he just nodded so Hayato would continue.

"She told me that Sayo-chan was coming home for a couple days for something special," Hayato just went with his second option, thinking it would make this go quicker. There was no point in beating around the bush if the snake was just going to bite. Might as well just find it and let it bite you.

Ryu swallowed, nodding his head. "I see…"

"Although, Saya-chan wouldn't tell me what 'something special' was…" Hayato pouted a little bit. He had begged and begged her to tell him, too.

"Probably a birthday in the family or something," Ryu shrugged his shoulders again and quickly filled his mouth with more noodles. The less he talked about her, the better his chances were for concentration.

"I wonder…" Hayato mumbled as he slurped up the noodles he had picked up before.

Slurping filled the air once again as the two continued eating. Ryu had a gut feeling that Hayato had more to say to him. Not that he'd want to hear it, but Hayato would surely just come out with it. That was just how the guy was.

Hayato was trying to figure exactly how he should tell Ryu that he should go see her. Not that Ryu would want to, but he needed to. The last time they had seen each other, they weren't able to say anything to each other. She was pulled away before she could say anything about him being at the airport. And then Saya brought him some chocolate from Sayo on Valentine's.

However, telling him to go see her would be kind of rash on his part. He didn't even know where she was staying anyway. She could be with Saya, or her parents, or her cousin, or her aunt's, or even at a hotel.

"You know, since she's here," Hayato started, swallowing his noodles in the middle of his sentence… "you should try to see her once…"

"I don't know where she'd stay," Ryu quickly pointed out a flaw in that theory, and hoped Hayato wouldn't figure out the flaw in his plan.

"But you have her number, don't you?" Hayato innocently asked Ryu, picking up some of his noodles and blowing on them again.

Ryu's eye twitched. Damn that Hayato! He angrily lifted up some steaming hot noodles from his bowl and shoved them in his mouth. As they hit his tongue, he made a sour face.

Hayato stopped himself from laughing out loud, covered his mouth, and began snickering to cover his ass. He was in for it later…

* * *

By now, the photo shoot was half over. The pajama party scenario was really fun, since the girls got to be in cute pajamas and play around with pillows. They had a mock pillow fight, which turned into a real pillow fight… The rock star/famous scenario had been fun too. They each got a different style to represent. Miku got J-pop, Saya got J-rap, and Sayo got J-rock. They all did separate sessions, posing in ways that they usually saw famous people in magazines. Then they did a session with all three of them together.

They were now on the scenario of Prom Night.

Saya was the first one to come out of the dressing rooms, fully done up. The dress looked great on her. It was a Tony Bowls prom dress. Flowing with a slit up to her thigh on the left side, showing off her thin legs. Beading under the bust and a halter style neckline. The team had put her hair up in a bun, and gave her light make up so she didn't clash too much with the gown. She also had on white heels that Takeshi had picked out for her to wear. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = TB-LG112518 .jpg )

Sayo came out from the dressing rooms not too long after Saya, and smiled immediately when she saw her cousin. "Wow, look at you, superstar."

Saya turned around, a small blush on her face. She stopped before she said anything in retaliation to her cousin. "You're one to talk," she smirked, giving Sayo a one over.

Sayo's dress was also a Tony Bowls prom dress. Her dress was black, long and flowing as well. It fit perfectly in all the right places, a high slit on the left side as well, showing off Sayo's toned legs from her dancing. Silver beading covered the entire bodice, with large flowers in the design, and giving off the look of a boned corset. The neckline was a sweetheart with no sleeves or straps. Her make up was a little more noticeable than Saya's since she had to match the dress she was wearing, and had on silver and black heels. Takeshi had told the team to leave her hair down, so they did as told. (Dress Link: s718 .photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = TonyBowls-11250 .jpg)

"Oh, I know I look good," Sayo smirked devilishly, walking toward the set with Saya next to her.

"Pompous attitude," Saya murmured to her cousin, a sour look on her face.

Sayo said nothing in response, only shrugged her shoulders.

"Are you sure I look good in this dress?" Miku asked as she walked out in her chosen piece.

Miku's dress was a Blush prom dress, and was simply gorgeous on her. It had a sweetheart neckline with thin black straps. The color of the dress was a light blue that darkened into a black at the ends of the many layers of ruffles on the skirt. There was also purple beading on the bodice that resembled a swirl of some sort. She had on a pair of dark blue heels on under the dress, and light blue eye shadow, accompanied by light make up. Her hair was in a fancy up do. (Dress Link: s718 .photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = BL-P004 .jpg )

"Wow, Miku-san, you look amazing," Saya and Sayo smiled, completely admiring the woman. Takeshi sure had good taste, and knew what would look on his girlfriend.

"Oh, same to you two," Miku smiled kindly at the two girls as she made her way to stand next to them on the set. "Those dresses suit you both."

"I'm good, aren't I?" Takeshi smirked at his own genius, standing behind his camera.

They did various different poses, both together and separately. Saya and Sayo did a couple of photos together. Takeshi took a lot of pictures of each of them individually, though. He was planning on giving them each a memento, so they'd remember what the day was all about and why it was an important day, aside from it being Miku's birthday.

"Okay, next is the Firework Festival," Takeshi announced, standing up straight after being hunched over his camera for so long.

Saya, Sayo and Miku headed back into the dressing rooms to change and get their make up redone. This time they'd get to wear yukatas. They were quite excited for this. Miku hadn't worn one in years, she almost forgot how to tie her bow. Saya and Sayo hadn't worn one since their second year of high school. All the girls had gone to a festival together to have some fun. Takeshi had also brought some accessories that are commonly found at festivals, like the water balloons, character masks and fans.

Takeshi had picked out a light green, floral printed long yukata for Miku to wear. The flowers on the print were white and a red-pink color. The obi was a bright orange, and she was given a pair of orange strapped geta to wear with the yukata. Her hair was up in a slightly messy bun to match the yukata style. (Yukata: www .akiodesigns 2008/ 07/ yukata/ )

For Saya, he chose a short aqua colored yukata, with a delicate flower pattern. The obi was also aqua, had white lining, and the string tied around it matched the color of the flowers in the pattern. She was given white strapped straw sandals to wear with her yukata. Her hair was pulled together in a loose ponytail, hanging over her right shoulder. (Yukata: www .lionella p/ short- yukata- robe )

And for Sayo he chose a short, off the shoulder yukata. The trim was black, with a gold, red, pink and black floral design on it. A pink sash, tied in a bow a the back, served as her obi. Her geta had gold straps on them, and made her a little taller than she was. Her hair was braided loosely with a few fake yellow-pink roses in it. (Yukata: www .ngshopping Product- 618111- Sexy- Gorgeous- Printed- Silk- Satin .aspx )

"Okay, Miku stands in the middle," Takeshi told the girls once they were all on the set, ready to take photos.

This time they had a few props, to add to the festival feeling. A mock gold fish pond, and a single game booth they would be able to digitally mold into any game they wanted to. The girls acted like they were playing the games and actually walking around a festival. They even made it look like they were watching fireworks in the sky. Even though they were pretending, their expressions were quite believable.

"Alright, time for the final scenario," Takeshi announced and the three went back into the dressing rooms. Once the door was closed, Takeshi prepared for his part in this. He tried to calm himself down, as he was only just now getting nervous about the whole thing. He pulled the ring box out of his pocket and peered inside. She would surely love this ring…

"Noda-san, who do you want to take the photo?" one of the team members who worked with the set asked him in a whisper.

"Probably Saya-chan or Sayo-chan, they've done it before," Takeshi answered in a low tone of voice. He was glad Miku hadn't asked about why he seemed to be over dressed for a simple photo shoot. In fact, he was over dressed for a simple photo shoot. But this wasn't a simple photo shoot. He chose to wear something that would look suitable next to the dress he'd picked out for her. However, it was a simple outfit nonetheless. A white button down shirt under a maroon vest, black slacks, and black and white sneakers.

Saya and Sayo came out at the same time, wearing the same exact dress. A short black chiffon dress with one shoulder strap on the left, a ruffled with gold trim, rouching on the bodice, ruffled belt around waist with gold trim, and a flowing skirt. On their feet they wore leopard print open toe heels. Their hair was down and they had no make up or accessories on. After all, they were to be in the background for this. (Dress Link: s718 .photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = L_g0015522934 .jpg )

Miku came out last in her short chiffon crème colored dress. The dress was also a one shoulder, on the right, and had a long sleeve instead of a strap. The sleeve was almost a bell sleep, but it had a cuff at the wrist that ad jewels sewn on. She had on a necklace that matched the jewels, and a jeweled bangle on her left wrist to complete her ensemble. Of course, she wasn't complete without her crème pump heels that had a shiny silver sole. Her hair was lightly curled at the ends and elegantly pulled over to one side. Her make up was almost impossible to miss, since it was a shiny nude. (Dress Link: s718 .photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ ?action = view & current = L_g0018027687 .jpg )

Takeshi had thought she'd look great in the dress, but didn't think it would make him this speechless. He couldn't take his eyes off her, she looked so great. Sayo came up to his side and smirked at his blatant stare. Saya came up behind Sayo and put her hand to her mouth, chuckling lightly.

"You're staring," Sayo whispered to him as a way to try and jog him out of his state of shock.

Takeshi blinked a few times and tore his eyes from his soon-to-be fiancé. "Sorry…" he mumbled, a blush creeping over his cheeks.

"Let's get this show on the road then," Saya ushered him towards Miku, giving him a wink and thumbs up. They would be able to handle the camera.

Takeshi only nodded his head, steeling his nerves and preparing to do what he had been planning all day long. As he approached Miku on the set, she gave him a curious look.

"Is the photographer allowed to be in the photos?" she asked, unaware of what was really happening. None of the crew members were really doing their normal routine for a shoot. Saya and Sayo were behind the camera. Even the hair and make up crew were out on the floor, watching. Something was up.

"I don't know, and I don't care," Takeshi shrugged his shoulders as he answered her and grabbed her hands in his. The look in his eyes was serious and yet gentle at the same time. Miku didn't know what to think.

"Miku," Takeshi started, staring deeply into her eyes. "I thought I was the luckiest guy when I met you after my former teacher rejected me after only one date."

"What a way to start off…" Saya muttered, feeling a bit awkward with the way he had phrased that.

"I know…" Sayo nodded her head in agreement, but continued to listen. This was the best part, after all.

"I was kind of surprised when you asked me out," Takeshi admitted, a small redness creeping over his cheeks. "I may have felt a little sting to my pride, but I was glad that I accepted it in the end."

Miku smiled, knowing this had to be hard for him to admit, especially since everyone was there watching. "Takeshi-kun, you don't-"

Takeshi put two fingers on her lips, quieting her so he could continue. "After that first date, I knew I couldn't let anyone else have you, and I knew what to do." He brought his fingers away from her lips and let go of her hands. "I've known what I had to do from the very beginning, it didn't take long for you to capture my heart." He began to kneel down in front of her.

Miku's eyes widened, realizing just what was happening. She couldn't believe her eyes. There she had been, less than a year ago, hoping he'd propose to her, and now, here he was, actually proposing to her. As much as her common sense tried to tell her heart that this was all part of the scenario contest, her heart refused to believe it at all. Takeshi just wasn't that shallow of a guy to fake a proposal as emotional as this one.

"If someone had gotten to you before me, I don't know what I would have done," Takeshi continued, reaching into his pocket for the ring box that had been sitting at his side the whole day, bugging him. Reminding him of this very moment, and making his stomach jump on a trampoline.

Sayo bent down behind the camera, holding her finger over the snapshot button so she was ready for the perfect moment. She couldn't help but let the smile tugging at her lips take over her entire face. This would be good. Saya stood behind her, oozing anxiousness and excitement from her entire being.

"Tanaka Miku-san," Takeshi began, revealing the black ring box he had kept hidden for months in the palm of his hand, the other perched on top ready to open it for the big reveal. "Will you please marry me?" he lifted the top of the ring box to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring. Looking down at the ring, a flower was depicted by eight petals laced with small diamonds, surrounding a large diamond in the middle of the flower. It didn't stop there. The smaller diamonds nearly covered the entire band of the ring. When she saw it, Miku's hands flew to her mouth, astonished by the ring, and only able to imagine it's cost. (Ring Link: s718 .photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ ?action = view & current = lg3 .jpg )

Sayo pressed down on the snapshot button, capturing the first moment Miku had seen the ring. She and Saya were both quite impressed too. After all, they hadn't seen the ring, but they didn't expect him to go that far. It was a gorgeous ring, any girl would love to have it.

Tears welled at the corners of Miku's eyes. "You're not just… playing the part… are you?" she asked, afraid of the answer being yes.

"I wouldn't play such a cruel joke on you," Takeshi told her in a calm tone, trying to keep himself from being overwhelmed by the anticipation of her answer.

Miku's expression changed to one of relief and happiness. She let her hands fall from her mouth and revealed her smile, tears falling down her cheeks from the push of her smile. "Of course I will, Takeshi!" she answered, blinking the tears out of her eyes.

"I'm glad," Takeshi smiled back at her, and removed the ring from it's home in the box. Holding it delicately, like he held her, he moved to slide the ring on her finger. As the cold metal touched her skin, she jumped a little, but was fully overcome by joy. Sayo snapped another shot.

"It's beautiful, Takeshi," Miku told him as he stood up, admiring the ring on her finger. Before he could respond to her, however, she slung her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. It didn't take him long to respond to that, though…

Sayo snapped another photo, just for the fun of it. After the flash wore off, everyone in the room began clapping and whistling at the newly engaged couple. The two broke off and smiled sheepishly at their audience. Takeshi glanced over at the girls and they both just winked at him. The plan had worked without fail.

* * *

"It was a HUGE success!" Saya exclaimed to her mother. She and Sayo had gone to her mother's apartment to visit and update her on the situation.

"Yeah, the look on Miku-san's face was just priceless," Sayo agreed with a smile. The two had changed from their fancy dresses back into their street clothes, but had brought home the rest of the clothes. Takeshi always let them have the clothes they modeled in, and today was no different.

"I'm glad that boy finally got that off his chest," Ayumi smiled, picking up her glass of iced tea from the table that she and the girls sat around. "Mayumi told me that he'd been debating for months and asking his mother for advice about the whole thing."

"Really?" Saya let out, surprised that he was actually unsure of the whole thing.

"He did ask me back in December if we'd help him pull this off," Sayo reminded her cousin.

"Oh yeah," Saya looked away, embarrassed that she'd forgotten.

"Don't worry Saya, I don't expect you to remember everything," Sayo chuckled at her cousin's embarrassment.

"So, how long are you here for Sayo-chan?" Ayumi asked, bringing her glass away from her face.

"Only a day or so," Sayo answered, a tiny hint of sadness coming through her voice. "I'm staying with my parents for the night before I leave again."

"Oh that's a shame," Ayumi commented. However, she did understand that her boss would want her to return to work as soon as possible, especially since they hadn't been there for but a few months. It would be a waste of money for her to go to America for a few months, not participate in any competition, and bring her home almost immediately.

"But I'm okay," Sayo shrugged her shoulders, knowing what her aunt was referring to. She wouldn't be able to see the other girls before she left this time. Her trip was to be short and not too tempting. That was why she absolutely didn't want to run into Ryu. That would be really bad on her at the moment.

"Well, you better get home then," Ayumi stood, placing her glass on the table. "You should be able to spend a good amount of time with your parents before you leave."

"Yeah, I'll make sure I do spend as much time as I can with them," Sayo nodded her head, agreeing with her aunt fully. She stood as well, and walked toward the door with her aunt and cousin following her. She dared not to forget her bag either.

"Keep in touch with me, okay?" Saya told her as she knelt down to put her shoes on. "I won't be able to see you off this time, I've got classes tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll remember to keep you in the loop," Sayo nodded to Saya as she stood from the floor. A small goodbye hug from her aunt and cousin later, Sayo was out the door, bag in hand, and heading off toward her parents' home. She would only be there for one night, and then heading back to America early the following morning. Tamaki awaited her return eagerly, practicing at the very moment she fell asleep that night.


	34. Chapter 27

_** A/N: Yay, new chapter up! So excited that I started writing again~ Enjoy it!**_

* * *

**Chapter 27: The Sponsor's Daughter**

About two months after the proposal, Sayo got an email from Miku with details of how the preparations for the wedding were going. Takeshi was letting her do just about anything she wanted that was in the budget. She planned to have a mostly American style wedding. Since neither of their parents were heavy on tradition, they didn't care too much about what type of wedding they had. Miku told her that she was depending on Sayo to help her with a few details, since Sayo knew more about American weddings than she did. The final sentence in the email kind of shocked her a bit.

'_I was hoping you would be my maid of honor.'_

Reading the words made her smile a bit. As soon as she could, she would reply to Miku with her answer, but for the time being, she had to rush out of the apartment with Yoshida in order to get to the studio on time.

"Yo, Sa-chan, you coming?" Yoshida called to her from the front door.

"Yeah, give me a sec!" Sayo answered, shutting down the laptop that was in the corner of the living room by the window. Seeing it in the process, she stood up straight and turned to leave with him.

The laptop had been a house warming present from Kandi, since she had an extra one. And what was a home in America without a computer? So, why not give her two new partners/affiliates a computer for their home.

"Okay, let's go," Sayo smiled as she slipped on her shoes at the door and they both exited the apartment.

Since Sayo's birthday had passed, she wa now nineteen and ready to take on the dancing world. She had gotten a lot of birthday emails from Saya and the girls. Takeshi had sent her a present in the mail, which was also had a big thank you card for helping him propose to Miku. Even Hayato and Ryu sent her a small email on her phone for her birthday. Separately, mind you. Hayato's had made her giggle, but shocked her as well. He'd told her, _'He won't say it, but Ryu misses you…'_. It had given her butterflies in her stomach.

As she thought about her birthday emails, Sayo touched her earring in her right earlobe absently, the one Ryu had given her for Christmas. She stared blankly at the sidewalk as she walked next to Yoshida to the studio. He eyed her a couple of times, seeing her stray a little to one side here and there. It was hard for him to figure out if he should try to get her attention, or let her continue on like this. However, just as he was going to get her attention, she pulled herself out of her thoughts and sighed.

* * *

Sayo and Yoshida opened the doors to one of the practice rooms, only to find Kawamura and Kandi arguing loudly. What it was about, no one could really tell. The two were fine with each other one minute, and then at each other's throats the next. Honestly, they really are like an old married couple…

"I'm telling you that your posture is wrong!"

"And **I'm** telling **you **that **you're** leaning in too far!"

The sound of the door opening and closing didn't even faze them. Yoshida and Sayo only shook their heads with small chuckles, moving away from the door. They began to prepare for their own practice session as the other two continued to argue about who was doing what and who was wrong. The only thing that snapped the two out of their argument was the sound of heels clacking loudly on the wooden floors as Sayo began to warm up. Yoshida followed quickly after her, joining their hands together as they practiced a simple waltz.

Kandi turned her head, realizing that she and Kawamura weren't the only two in the room anymore. Upon seeing Sayo, she remembered something that she had to tell her. It was practically urgent in all ways possible. She couldn't wait until practice was over. She had to tell her right now. Without another word, she turned and walked away from Kawamura.

Sayo and Yoshida ended their small, simple warm up waltz, and parted for a moment. Apparently that was enough for Kandi to steal her away from him. Kandi stepped in between the two, facing Sayo with a serious expression.

"Sayo," Kandi started in a serious tone of voice that matched her expression.

"Yes, what is it Kandi?" Sayo was almost afraid to ask that question, but braved it out.

In a second, Kandi's expression did a complete 180 and she was smiling from ear to ear. "We got invited to a formal party by one of our sponsor's daughter!" she grabbed Sayo's shoulders as her eyes glittered with excitement.

"Wow, a party?" Sayo's eyes also lit up with excitement as she thought about what it would be like. Then she remembered the word formal. "Wait, formal?"

"Yeah, formal," Kandi nodded her head, still excited about it.

"But I don't have anything formal aside from my past competition dresses," Sayo frowned, not wanting to wear a dance dress to a formal party. That would just make her look bad.

"Don't worry," Kandi winked at Sayo to help her feel better. "She made note of a specific store we can go to that she frequents."

"Oh," Sayo nodded, feeling like there was more to this. Hopefully there was more to this. She didn't have enough money yet. They had only participated in two competitions. Even though they had won first place in both, it still wasn't enough for her to have the luxury of buying a six or seven hundred dollar dress.

"She told the owner that we were going to come and that any dress we want will be on her," Kandi finished, super excited about this whole thing. She had heard about this store, the dresses were super gorgeous, and super expensive. So, having free range in a store like that was a blessing.

"Wow, that's really nice of her," Sayo commented, hearing the generous offer.

"So, you wanna come with me? It's in a week," Kandi asked, hopeful Sayo would say yes. That way they'd be able to go shopping together. After all, Kandi didn't have very many girl friends she could do this with. She was too flirty at college, so many girls didn't like her. But the guys were great.

"Sure, I'll go, sounds like fun," Sayo smiled, speaking honestly.

"Hey," Yoshida cut in, sounding slightly curt. The two girls turned to look at him, fluttering their eyes innocently. "Why weren't we invited?" he asked, motioning to himself and Kawamura.

"I don't know," Kandi shrugged her shoulders. She thought for a second. The sponsors didn't usually invite the dancers to formal galas, so something had to be up. "Maybe her father wanted to meet me and Sayo," Kandi threw in with another shrug.

"Hmm…" Yoshida thought for a moment, and then let it go. It would be a good bonding experience for Sayo anyways. He wasn't going to get in the way of her having some good American fun.

"Let's practice, our next competition is in a few weeks," Sayo changed the subject to get their minds back in business mode. They paired up with their appropriate partners and continued their practice session for the day.

* * *

Miku had kept in touch with Saya after the proposal happened. She needed someone other than her mother to help support her and figure things out. Miku had figured that since Saya and Sayo were so alike, and Sayo was her maid of honor, Saya would probably have close to the same opinion as Sayo. At this point in the planning process, Miku had Takeshi compiling a list of people he wanted to invite and who he wanted his groomsmen to be. She had been consulting the internet a lot as well to research about the customs of an "American" wedding, both ceremony and reception. She was lucky that neither of their parents were objecting to any of this.

Miku picked out burgundy to be one of their "wedding colors". Takeshi added in tan, claiming that it was the perfect complement to burgundy, as he was the perfect complement to her. When she heard him say this, she only giggled. The part she was most excited about was picking out her wedding dress.

Since she was getting married, Miku's boss saw the perfect opportunity for a series of stories about marriage preparation, and the mixing of two completely different traditions. And Miku was the one he wanted to write the story. It was to be something like a journal of her road toward marriage. He wanted every detail about what went into picking out everything there was to pick out. From something as simple as gold or silver, to the more complicated choosing of a venue. Everything.

She had started the night she had emailed Sayo asking her to be her maid of honor. That had been one of the more complicated decisions. She had been debating in her head if she should ask her best friend, or the girl who supported her from the get-go. Miku chose Sayo because she supported her from the first time she had met her. Miku's best friend had been wary about her being in a relationship with Takeshi because she had heard about his high school days.

The thing they had to choose now was a date for the wedding to take place. They both were aiming for summer time, but didn't know exactly when they wanted it to happen. So for now, they'd continue to ponder on the date.

* * *

Ever since Sayo returned from Japan, the two pairs had competed in two competitions. They both came out on top, Sayo and Yoshida taking first place, Kawamura and Kandi taking second. Kandi had been a bit skeptical about Sayo and her abilities until the first competition. They weren't allowed to practice together since they were competing against each other, so Kandi hadn't seen Sayo dance before the competition. Kawamura had told her many times that Sayo was a big threat to them, but Kandi hadn't taken him seriously.

Their first competition was a Latin dance competition, the dance to perform being the Salsa. Kandi and Kawamura had performed before Sayo and Yoshida had, so Kandi thought she would definitely have this in the bag. She didn't quite understand it, though. She and Kawamura couldn't get along for a million dollars in practice, but when it came to the real thing they were fine. Kandi had been thinking to herself that they were perfect in every way possible just before Sayo and Yoshida were called out to the floor.

Kandi had worn a lavender dress that the designer had named "Amethyst Mist". The dress was beautiful, a halter bikini style top, wrapped from the skirt from the left hip up across the right side of her chest, around her neck, and connected to the left half of the top. The left part of the top had a gold and blue flare made of sequins on it as a form of decoration. A second strap wrapped around her waist from the front of the skirt to the back. The skirt band was a strand of gold sequins, and the skirt itself was an asymmetrical wrap with fringe on the purple sequined hem. Her make up consisted of a light pink lipstick covered with gloss, a light amount of blush, black cat-eye liner, sparkly lavender eye shadow accompanied by a darker purple color to act as shading under her eyes and in the creases. She left her blond strands down to add to the affect of the dance moves as they traversed around the floor. ( Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = AmethystMist .jpg ) ( Make-up Link (Not Mine!): georgya10. deviantart gallery/ 25920029#/ d34qjdc )

However, when Sayo strutted out onto the dance floor, Kandi knew she was in for it, big time. Sayo's dress contrasted with hers quite a bit. It was called "Enigma", and was a deep purple in overall color. The top was a cowl neck halter top that draped down to her right hip and connected to the skirt. Underneath the cowl was a gold pad decorated with sequin swirls, colors of green, purple and silver, mostly to cover up any near indecencies on the dance floor. The same sequin swirls were placed at the point where the top connected to the skirt, and along the backside of the skirt. The back of the top was strappy and connected to the skirt as well. The skirt itself was rouched on the sides, pulling to two spots. One on the front right side where the top connected to the skirt, and the second on the back left side. From the first point to the second was an asymmetrical ruffled hem, varying in length. The material of the dress was shiny too. Her make up was very simple, and almost looked natural. Purple eyeliner penciled in around her brown eyes, and a light plum colored eye shadow covered her eyelid. Her hair was down, styled with a light wave at the ends, and sprayed in certain spots with silver glitter. Sayo glimmered all over and shined as they danced together. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = Enigma .jpg ) (Make-up Link (Not Mine!): hedwyg23. deviantart gallery/ ? q = lilac#/ d38xbjo )

Kandi couldn't help but stare at her competitor and group dance partners as they wowed the entire audience. Their first ever competition as a pair in America and they won first place. Kandi was having a hard time fathoming it, but she had witnessed it herself. The dance was nearly flawless. Fluid in all movement, graceful, and sexy all at the same time. Sayo made it look like it came natural to her.

"Why are Japanese girls always so sexy…" Kandi had muttered to herself as she sat next to Kawamura while they watched Sayo and Yoshida perform.

"…" Kawamura only side glanced her for a second, not wanting to take his eyes off the competition, but unable to disregard the comment his partner had made.

"Showing off that petite little figure of hers…" Kandi muttered to herself, feeling the green monster of envy take over her. "I wonder…"

"She's a virgin," Kawamura commented before she even finished her next sentence.

"What?" Kandi whipped her head around to stare at her partner in disbelief. There was no way that kind of sex appeal came naturally.

Kawamura only nodded his head, trying not to make a scene.

Kandi removed her stare from him onto Sayo out on the dance floor. She would never underestimate or assume things about her competitors again.

* * *

The second competition was a classic Waltz competition. Kandi knew she wouldn't be the best, since she had a hard time being a proper lady. She had to be honest, Kawamura was right about her posture. But, she would never tell him that he was right. It just wasn't in her nature. Kandi, remembering how the previous competition went, knew Sayo would out do her. There was no doubt in her mind that Sayo had good posture and was able to put on the act of a proper lady. In the back of her mind, Kandi was waiting for them to participate in a Rumba competition, just to see how Sayo danced.

Kandi's dress was mostly white and, from the back, looked like a two piece. However, from the front, you could tell it was connected. The bustier was covered be pinkish-red fabric flowers. The choker that held up the top was also a circlet made of the same pinkish-red fabric flowers. From the choker to the band of the skirt, white fabric connected the top to the skirt, forming an x over her torso and abdomen. The skirt was floor length, white in color, with silver sequins sewn onto the top half. The white fabric that connected the top to the skirt also had silver sequins sewn into it. Part of the dress were sheer white sleeves, that had silver sequins sewn on, that covered her arm from her middle finger to her mid-bicep, and had sheer white fabric 'wings' sewn into them. On the backside of the skirt, directly in the middle of her butt, two of the pinkish-red fabric flowers were sewn in to connect the sheer white 'wings' to the dress. Her hair was up in pigtails, with pinkish-red ribbons. Her make-up consisted of red liner all around her green eyes that made the sat-eye detail, a few dots and lines, and then a lighter, sparkly red eye shadow on her eyelid. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current =BD-SG530 .jpg ) (Make Up Link (Not Mine!): georgya10. deviantart gallery/ 25920029#/ d3135ed )

Sayo, once again, contrasted from Kandi dramatically. The only thing their appearances had in common were that the dresses could be mistaken for a two piece. At first glance, the dress color seemed to be black, but upon a closer look, one could tell that the dress was actually navy in color. The top resembled a corset, the hem an upward point, and the neckline almost like a set of horns. Three white lines ran down the top, one down the middle and two symmetrical to the middle on each side, with a bunch of white sequins in between each line, to add a sparkle affect. The back of the top made a v on her lower back and connected to the floor length skirt. There was only one white line down the middle of the v on the backside of her top with some white sequins around it. The front of the skirt had a point going in the opposite direction of the tops hem. There were also the sequin lines down the skirt, but only a quarter of the way down, and they followed the shape of the band. Sayo also had sleeves that attached 'wings' to her dress, only hers were nude fabric, and the 'wings' were a sheer navy fabric that connected to the upper sides of the top of the dress. Her hair was in a loose braid, since the layers in her hair made it hard to braid. Her make-up was an almost black navy color all around her eyes with blue sparkle added on top. It made it look just right. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current =BD-SG927 .jpg ) (Make Up Link (Not Mine!): shandrajade. deviantart gallery/ ? offset = 24#/ d1837nz )

Once again, Kandi found herself watching her friends/competitors from the sidelines and becoming green with envy. She couldn't understand how Sayo was so good even though she'd only been dancing for half a year or so, while Kandi had been training almost all of her life to be as good as she is today.

"Man, first she acts like a pole dancer, now a charming princess…" Kandi muttered under her breath, sitting next to Kawamura, who could hear her perfectly. "What's next, a dog?"

"…" Kawamura was trying hard not to laugh at Kandi's jealous words. He knew she was jealous, and he shouldn't add wood to the fire. But it was so hard not to. "No, it'll be a thug."

"Oh please, don't even joke about that…" Kandi frowned, unable to imagine Sayo dancing street, wearing baggy cargo pants and a baseball cap turned to one side.

"Believe it or not," Kawamura started, returning his expression to his usual calm and serious one, "Sayo-chan's freestyle dancing was what made Yoshida ask her to be his partner."

Kandi's head whipped to him, an expression of complete shock on her face. "What?" Geez, this girl was just full of surprises.

Kawamura continued to watch Yoshida and Sayo on the floor and only nodded his head as an answer. Kandi returned her gaze to Sayo and just stared in awe.

It seemed she would have to prepare herself for a losing streak. Unless, of course, they were to participate in a group competition, or she was Sayo's partner.

* * *

Kandi brought her thoughts back to the present. She and Sayo were on their way to go shopping for beautiful, expensive dresses. The shop was called Vanessa's Boutique, and was traditionally a place that high school girls, and college girls, would come to buy prom and homecoming dresses. Kandi had printed out directions to the boutique before she had left her apartment to pick up Sayo for the excursion. She was so looking forward to this.

Sayo, on the other hand, was taking in all the scenery around her. The streets of Los Angeles, California were amazing. She was smiling from ear to ear, eyes jumping from one window to another. The palm trees were perfectly trimmed, lining the streets, sun shining brightly on them all, a light breeze causing just about everyone on the streets to wear a jacket or cardigan of some sort. It was still the spring after all. Not quite hot, but not as cold as January or February. It almost, just almost, reminded her of being back in Japan.

"There it is!" Kandi exclaimed, pointing, and facing, the opposite direction as Sayo had been…

"Eh?" Sayo blinked, coming back to Earth and turning around to look at what Kandi was talking about. "Ah," she smiled, seeing large glass full length windows showcasing mannequins in beautiful gowns.

"Finally found it," Kandi exhaled, folding the directions up into a small square and shoving it in her jeans pocket.

"This is it?" Sayo turned to Kandi in question, only to be grabbed by the wrist and drug along behind her companion.

"Yep!" Kandi answered as she pulled the door open. The small of fresh fabric filled their nostrils as they entered the establishment. A bell chimed throughout the store, letting the salesladies know that someone has entered the store.

An older, but not middle-aged, woman walked into view, eyeing Sayo and Kandi as the two girls gazed around the store from where they stood at the entrance in awe. The woman put on her business smile and approached the two. "Welcome to Vanessa's Boutique ladies."

Kandi and Sayo blinked a couple times and turned their attention to the saleswoman in front of them. Registering her greeting, they both smiled widely and nodded their heads meekly. This was the first time they'd be shopping together. It was going to be interesting.

"How can I help you?" the woman asked kindly, motioning for them to enter further into the store.

Sayo and Kandi acknowledged the motion and headed further in. "We're shopping for a special occasion," Kandi answered the saleswoman as they walked toward the walls lined with gowns.

"What kind of dress are you looking for?" the woman asked again, stopping in the middle of the floor, between the formal gowns and the cocktail dresses.

"A formal dress," Kandi answered again. Sayo was looking around, eyeing everything in the store. Picking out things in her head that she'd like to try on.

"Okay, then we're looking for something off this wall, then," the woman motioned toward the wall that stretched from the front of the store by the full length windows, all the way to the back of the boutique by the dressing rooms. A few free-standing racks were on the floor by the wall, full of gowns on each spoke. On the wall above the dresses were the names of the designers.

"I guess," Kandi nodded her head, following the woman's train of thought. Formal = floor length gown. Makes sense. Floor length gown, however, meant lots of money, especially for certain designers. Good thing they were able to get them free of charge…

The three headed toward the wall, and the woman explained that the dresses were arranged in alphabetical order by designer, and then by size. The wall was kind of intimidating. It reminded Kandi of why she never went to her high school prom. It was too hard, and too expensive, to get a dress for just one day.

Sayo and Kandi both went to different sections of the wall, picking out dresses they had their eyes on. They decided that they would take turns trying on dresses so they could get each other's opinion without one being distracted. After they were both done picking out what they wanted to try on, Kandi went in first. The saleswoman had placed all of Kandi's dresses in one room, and all of Sayo's dresses in the room next to Kandi. It was a good thing they were the only two in the boutique right now. Who knew when there were going to be anyone else entering.

Kandi had picked out a myriad of colors. Some oranges, a few yellows, two reds, a green, a few pinks and one rainbow. The first one she came out in, she even made a face when she saw herself in the body mirror. Next! The oranges looked good on her, but weren't perfect. The yellows made her seem like she was some Latino person, so she ditched them. The green was funky. The kind of funky that you don't want to wear to meet someone important for the first time. The reds kind of made her look sun burnt, so she passed on those too. She had finally gotten to the pinks, which were her favorites since her favorite color is hot pink. Saved the best for last.

She, Sayo and the saleswoman all agreed on the very last dress she tried on. A pink, one-shoulder, sweetheart neckline, a-line full length gown. The shoulder strap had a paisley-like beaded design on it that reached down the bodice to the waist. The bottom of the gown had spots of ombre from the pink to a lavender. It was beautiful. The designer? Night Moves by Allure. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current =NM-6495 .jpg )

By the time Sayo was getting ready to start trying on her dress selection, a few more girls had entered the boutique to look for prom dresses. It was that season already. Kandi couldn't believe it. Good thing there were about five salespeople to take care of the customers.

Kandi had eyed Sayo as she picked out dresses to try on. The color palette was kind of monochromatic. Most of the dresses she had picked were either a dark blue, silver or black. Kandi knew the girl looked good in other colors. She had seen her in colorful outfits from dancing. Nevertheless, these were Sayo's choice, so Kandi wasn't going to argue with her. Kandi sat in the chair Sayo had been sitting in while watching her and waited for her friend to emerge in the first dress of her selection. The other customers in the store were more than willing to give their opinions as well.

So, Sayo began to try on her dresses, one by one. Each dress looked great, but didn't seem to be the one. All the other girls in the store agreed with Kandi. Some of the girls in the store even grabbed more dresses off the racks for her to try on and see if she liked them. Sayo didn't love anything pink. Purple was all right. Red was okay. Blue was good. Orange washed her out. Yellow made her seem pale. White made her feel like a ghost. Black and silver were great. The last dress she tried on that was from her original selection was a Jovani gown. And it was black. She walked out and all the girls just stared at her.

The dress had boning and other details on the bodice, was strapless with a sweetheart neckline, mermaid fit-n-flare gown. It fit her perfectly, no alterations needed. The bodice details included sheer fabric under some kind of strap design. It was hard to describe, really. The dress just looked amazing on her. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current =Jovani8872 .jpg )

"That's it," Kandi said as she stood from the chair, eyes wide. Sayo turned around to see everyone in the store looking at her.

"What…" Sayo suddenly felt like she was trying to hold up a rock the size of Godzilla. She shrunk back a little as Kandi approached her.

Kandi put her hands on Sayo's shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes. "How on Earth are you able to pull off so many looks!?"

Sayo was confused and didn't really know how to answer the question. All the girls in the room nodded their heads. Ah, jealousy was a terrible thing, truly.

"So, is that your dress?" the saleswoman asked Sayo as a way of averting the attention from her figure to purchase.

"Ah, yes," Sayo nodded her head and quickly escaped Kandi's grasp in order to get out of the dress and back into her own clothes.

"Tch…" Kandi clicked her tongue as Sayo hid in the dressing room. The rest of the girls in the store went back to shopping for their own dress. The saleswoman approached Kandi.

"So, how are you paying for these dresses?" she asked, knowing that the total was probably more than anyone wanted to spend. However, her job was to sell the dresses. So, that's what she was going to do.

"Oh, we're here because Melissa Kerris sent us," Kandi answered with a smile.

"Oh, you know Ms. Kerris?" the saleswoman perked up a little, knowing that the sale was absolute. Melissa Kerris was able to pay for this, no problem. The owner had left the note by the cash registers about a week ago.

"Well, she's the daughter of our sponsor, and she invited us to a party," Kandi explained. "And she recommended us to this boutique."

"Well, that's great to hear," the saleswoman smiled. She would get a bonus this time around. Sayo walked out of the dressing room and stood by Kandi. "So, when is your party?"

"Oh, it's next week," Kandi smiled again, knowing that would make the woman sweat. That's right, Kandi had noticed that the saleswoman was trying to make her uncomfortable.

"Well, then, since your friend's dress fit perfectly, there's no need for alterations," the woman nodded her head, speaking her thoughts aloud. "She can take it home straight from the rack."

"Cool," Kandi nodded. She'd never really bought a dress like this, but had been through the process with the few girlfriends she had during high school.

"You can also get the one from the rack, but will need some alterations in order for it to fit you perfectly," the woman informed Kandi with a hand on her chin.

"Oh, that's even better," Kandi crossed her arms over her chest. Sayo had began to look at the cocktail dresses.

"By the way, my name is Lily Thomas," Lily held out her hand toward Kandi.

"I'm Kandi Bryan," Kandi accepted the handshake. "She's Sayo Tsukioka," Kandi motioned toward Sayo, who was still over by the cocktail dresses.

"Tsukioka? Is she foreign?" Lily asked, a confused, curious look on her face as she observed Sayo.

"Yeah, she's from Japan," Kandi nodded her head, watching Sayo with an amused smirk on her face.

"Hmm, I see," Lilly nodded her head. There was a minute or so of silence between the two, chattering around them from all the others in the store. "Well, let's set up a date for you to come have your alterations done."

"Okay," Kandi nodded and headed over to the cash register with Lily. The two took a few minutes to set up the alterations appointment. It took Lily another few minutes to get the order placed into the computer system. "All right, you girls are set, Ms. Sayo can pick up her dress the day you come in for your alterations."

"Great, thanks so much," Kandi smiled as she and Sayo began to leave the establishment.

"Well, that was fun," Sayo smiled as she breathed in the fresh air of the outside world.

"Yeah, it was," Kandi agreed, taking a deep breath as well.

* * *

Dress shopping was on the menu. Saya had learned, and informed Miku about, the ways of dressing at an American wedding. The bridesmaids wore dresses of a certain color that were to the bride's liking. They were to be a complement of the bride, to make her look the best she could on her big day. The wedding dress, depending on the location the wedding was taking place, could be long, short, strapless or fully sleeved.

Saya had felt relieved in a way when she found this out. She would be able to wear whatever kind of dress she wanted to the wedding. She knew Sayo didn't care about what the dress looked like. So, Saya had gone dress browsing today. She wasn't planning on buying anything until she knew the actual date of the wedding. Until then, she was a browsing machine. Every spare day she had, she spent at least an hour in a boutique trying to pick out a dress. Seeing what was in style, even though that would change. She wanted to know what colors and styles looked best on her.

Miku had told her about the series of journal articles her boss wanted her to do while she was preparing for marriage. Saya found that intriguing. It would be interesting to read about the adventures of someone getting married. Saya had also learned quite a bit from all the research she was doing for Miku. Americans always had friends and family witness the ceremony. In traditional Japanese wedding ceremonies, only the parents of the bride, the groom, the bride, and the Shinto priest were allowed at the ceremony. No friends allowed. At the reception, some Americans paid for entertainment, such as dancers, musicians, and disc jockeys.

American wedding dresses could be really expensive too. Some were hundreds of thousands of dollars. And most American weddings had some sort of theme to them, like Alice In Wonderland, or Pirates, or even Mardi Gras. It was rare to have a themed wedding in Japan. Not all American brides wore one dress for the ceremony and then another one for the reception. Saya was used to hearing about a traditional Kimono during the ceremony, then a Western style dress during the ceremony, or even two different Western style dresses.

Miku sure did have a lot think about…

* * *

A week later, Kandi and Sayo had their dresses. Kandi showed up at Sayo and Yoshida's apartment to pick her up for the party. Kawamura was visiting the two, congratulating them on their eighth first place win in a row. That was a true feat. So, when the doorbell rang, Yoshida answered it. Sayo was still in her room getting ready, so he invited Kandi in to sit for a minute.

Kawamura looked her up and down, taking in the way that the hot pink color matched with her personality and her skin tone very well. She had on silver heels as well, which had caught his eye. She had her hair in a loose, slightly messy bun.

"So, tonight's your party with the sponsor's daughter, huh?" Yoshida asked after taking a long swig of his drink. The three of them were sitting on the couch at the moment.

"Yeah, doesn't this dress look great?" Kandi stood, feeling so excited and nervous about this. She had never been to something like this before. She spun in place, giving them a full view of the whole dress.

"Yeah, it looks really good on you, Kan-chan," Yoshida winked at her with a smirk on his face.

"Hey, don't get all perverted on me, now…" Kandi muttered as she sat down again.

Just before Kawamura was going to say something in reply to that comment, Sayo emerged from her room in her black Jovani gown. She had on black strap heels that barely peeped out from under the gown when she walked. She left her hair down and had on a little bit of natural shade make up.

"So, how do I look?" she asked as she got into view of the guys.

Kawamura looked taken aback. Yoshida had wide eyes and his mouth dropped a bit. Kandi just smiled, used to how the dress looked on Sayo by now. "Whoa, Sa-chan, you look great!" Yoshida jumped out of his seat and made a square in front of his eye with his thumbs and index fingers, like he was taking a snapshot.

"Yes, absolutely stunning," Kawamura agreed, though not as over enthusiastic as Yoshida was.

"Thanks you two," Sayo smiled with a chuckle at Yoshida's behavior. Kandi stood up.

"You ready to go?" Kandi asked, a smile on her face.

"Yes, let's get going before we're late," Sayo nodded, agreeing with Kandi. Even though it was unsaid, the atmosphere had gotten a bit awkward after Yoshida acted like he was taking a snapshot. Sayo had a feeling the drinks were getting to him just a bit.

"We'll see you boys later," Kandi bid the two farewell as she and Sayo exited the apartment. They hailed a taxi and were on their way to the party. Kandi gave the driver the invitation as a way of telling him their destination. She really didn't know where the venue was. It was in the 'upper-class' part of Los Angeles that Kandi rarely visited. The easiest way for her to tell the driver where they were going was to give him the address written on the invitation.

The driver nodded at the invitation, signaling to Kandi that he knew where he was heading. He handed back the invitation to her before pulling the car out of park. After a few minutes of driving, the driver thought he would start some small talk. He eyed the two in the backseat for an opening.

"So, the two of you know the Kerris family?" the driver asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

"Oh, no, Mr. Kerris's daughter invited us to this gala they're having tonight," Kandi answered, shaking her head with small chuckles.

"I see," the driver nodded, listening to her explanation.

"The Kerris group is one of our sponsors, so I guess she wanted to meet us," Kandi jested, a thoughtful finger on her lips.

"Sponsor you?" the driver questioned, confused by her wording.

"Yeah, we're competitive ballroom dancers," Kandi nodded her head with a smile. Meanwhile, Sayo was staring out the window, admiring all the new, and old, scenery passing her by. The city looked so much different at night.

"Oh, that's cool," the driver nodded his head, keeping his eyes on the road.

The rest of the drive was silent, since neither the driver nor Kandi knew anything else to talk about. Instead, the driver put on some music. Kandi mouthed every song she knew, but didn't dare sing them out loud. With the music on, time seemed to pass by faster, and before she knew it, the taxi had arrived at their destination. Kandi smirked at the sight of a red carpet leading up to the front entrance of the building the gala was being held in. This was going to be so much fun.

She tapped Sayo on the shoulder, jumping the girl out of her trance, and told her they had arrived. Sayo wordlessly nodded and opened the door on her side of the taxi to get out. The driver had thrown the vehicle into park so he could get out and open the door for Kandi like a true gentleman would. Kandi smiled at the gesture, stood up straight outside of the vehicle, and gave the man the money for the ride.

After a short goodbye to their driver, he was off, and they were on their way into the building. It was a large, fancy hotel by the name of Hilton. The hotel had at least twenty stories, if not more. The name was in red lights so everyone could see, and a large fountain in front of the hotel entrance. The whole place was lit up like the night sky. The two took a moment to stare up and down the building before heading inside.

Once past the fountain, which Sayo had to stop and gawk at, they entered the hotel lobby and approached the desk. Five different employees were behind the desk, either helping a distinguished customer, or waiting to help someone in need of assistance. Like Sayo and Kandi, who were standing in the middle of the grand lobby, gawking some more at the glamorous décor. Gold statues and red velvet sofas and love seats. Gold trimmed tile floors and crystal-laden chandeliers with gold chains hanging above their heads. Artwork on the ceiling.

Seeing that the two weren't coming over to the desk anytime soon, one of the employees decided to approach them. "Hello ladies, welcome to the Hilton Hotel, how may I help you?"

Kandi was slightly startled by the employee and turned to face her with wide eyes and a smile. "Ah, yes, we're here for the Kerris gala…" Kandi informed the woman, handing her the invitation.

The employee blinked as she looked down at the invite. Yes, she remembered they were to be the venue of the Kerris gala tonight. "Yes, it is being held in ballroom B on the third floor."

"Great, and how should we get there?" Kandi asked, grabbing Sayo's arm so when she started for their destination, she wouldn't lose her. This, however, didn't mean that Sayo was paying any attention to Kandi.

"How about I escort you?" the employee offered kindly. It was her job, after all, to provide world class service to the guests of the Hilton Hotel.

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Kandi sighed, relieved they wouldn't get lost on their way to the room.

"Right this way," the employee smiled politely and gestured for the two to follow her.

The female employee escorted them to the elevator, which was an old fashioned cage elevator with gold doors. They rang for the third floor, and it only took a moment or so before they were on the desired floor. After stepping out, they followed the employee to the right down the hallway. Sayo almost stopped moving three times before finally pulling her focus off of the fabulous décor. After about five minutes of walking, the employee stopped at a pair of cedar wood double doors. Outside the rood stood an elegant sign, with fancy cursive writing, that informed others that the Kerris family was having their anniversary gala in this room.

"I hope you ladies enjoy your time at the gala," the female employee nodded her head politely as she turned and made her exit. Now it was up to them to make their entrance to the party.

Kandi put her hand on the door knob, but hesitated for a moment. "Are you ready Sayo?" she asked, seemingly trying to get up some confidence.

"Yeah, let's go," Sayo nodded her head with a big smile on her face. She was really excited. This was the first time she'd ever been to an elegant gala like this.

"Okay," Kandi nodded her head, determination crossing her face as she turned the knob and pushed the door open.

As the door eased inwards, Kandi and Sayo were greeted by what seemed like a bouncer that would normally be found at a night club. Kandi shrunk back a little, the man was super tall and looked very gruff. Sayo only continued to smile as she approached him, although there wasn't very much space for her to advance since he was in the door.

"Hello," Sayo greeted sweetly, tilting her head to the side cutely. Kandi only gawked at her companion.

"Do you have an invitation?" the bouncer questioned sternly, not giving in to Sayo's cuteness.

"Yes we do," Sayo nodded her head, and turned to Kandi, holding her hand out for the invitation. Kandi took a second to gather herself before she presented the invitation to the bouncer.

"Kandi Bryan and Tsukioka Sayo?" the bouncer questioned once again, mispronouncing Sayo's surname. He added in the 't' sound at the beginning.

"Correct," Kandi nodded her head, too damn nervous to notice the mispronunciation.

Sayo, however, didn't let it slide. "The t is silent," she informed him with an unimpressed look. She had enough experience from working with a bouncer back in Japan. She wasn't that scared of him. She knew men who were far scarier.

Kandi only stared at Sayo, stunned by the tone she had used with the security for the party. However, the bouncer only smiled at her attitude. "You've got some guts," he snorted and moved aside to let them in. "Have a good time."

"Thank you," Sayo smiled back at him, attitude returning to it's former state. Kandi had to make a mental note. Never piss Sayo off. Who knew what would happen if she ever did, not that she wanted to find out, mind you…

The two of them walked into the room and panned around the room. The ballroom was huge with cathedral ceilings. Chandeliers identical to the ones in the lobby were hanging above their heads. The wallpaper was white with gold trimmings and half cedar wood panels. The floor was carpeted with elegant white and gold colored florets swirls for a pattern. A small, makeshift stage stood at the front of the room, about twenty round tables with six chairs each sat in the middle of the room, spread out widely. There were stations on the left and right walls. On the right side was the station for food, which was kind of like a buffet of hors d'oeuvres. And on the left wall was a drink station with fountains of punch and lemonade and probably some kind of alcoholic drink too.

In the middle of the room stood a large crowd of men dressed in suits and women in elegant gowns. Kandi figured that was where they would find their sponsor and his daughter. So, that was where she drug Sayo to next. It was the logical choice, really. Good party etiquette started with greeting your host and letting them know you have arrived. And that was what Kandi planned on doing.

"Let's go find them," Kandi whispered in Sayo's ear so the other people around them wouldn't hear. Sayo only nodded, blinking at the large crowd they were heading towards. Now her English was really going to be challenged…

"Mr. Kerris, your daughter is very lovely," they overheard an older woman complimenting the young woman who had invited them.

"Yes, very much so," a young man agreed, a slight suggestive tone to his voice.

"Well, my wife is the most beautiful woman in the world," they heard Mr. Kerris, their sponsor, boast. And that was when they had finally spotted the man.

Mr. Kerris is a middle aged man, standing at average height with a small gut. His hair is short, standing up slightly on his head, a dirty blond color mixed with gray hairs, and a goatee on his chin. His eyes seemed to sparkle with youth despite his age. He wore a spiffy black suit and shiny shoes. The only ring on his hands was his wedding band, which was a plain crimson gold band.

A few of the people surrounding him and his daughter left them to grab a small bite to eat. Kandi decided that this was their chance to introduce themselves to the man and thank his daughter for the invitation.

"Excuse me," Kandi started meekly, her voice small despite her normal attitude and smiling face. This was the first time she was meeting a man of his wealth.

Mr. Kerris simply turned to see the one who had spoken. When his eyes fell on the two girls, he immediately smiled. "Why, Hello, you must be Kandi Bryan and Sayo Tsukioka, am I correct?" he greeted, extending his hand towards them.

Kandi was simply taken aback. She didn't expect the man to know what she looked like, or even who she was. "Um, yes," she nodded her head and shaking his hand lightly.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Kerris," Sayo responded with a warm smile and bowed to him. She shook his hand after Kandi had let go.

"Wow, you speak very good English, Ms. Tsukioka," Mr. Kerris complimented, and this made Sayo blush a little out of embarrassment. She had never been complimented on her English skills before.

"Thank you very much…"

"Oh, Melissa, come over here," Mr. Kerris called over to his daughter who was sitting at their table looking quite spacey and unaware of where she was. When her father called her name, she peeked over at him. She was going to ignore him, but when she saw the two girls standing with him, she perked up.

A large smile spread across Melissa's face as she stood and made quick strides of the distance. "Hi, it's so nice to finally meet you," Melissa started, not even letting her father introduce the two girls.

"Melissa, dear, this is Kandi Bryan," her father introduced as she shook Kandi's hand. "And Sayo Tsukioka."

"It's nice to meet you too," Kandi nodded with a smile, finally returning to her normal state of mind. She finally got over the fact that these people were rich. They were just like her, people.

Melissa Kerris looked almost like the polar opposite of her father. The only thing they shared was their eyes. Beautiful, vibrant teal eyes, which contrasted greatly with her dark brown hair that framed her face elegantly. Her naturally tan skin complemented the blue dress she wore. The dress was a halter neck, with a jeweled neck band, and a keyhole in the middle of the torso. Two more jeweled bands held the dress to fit her form, one under her breasts and another around her waist. The dress was floor length, her heeled feet barely peeping out from under the hem, revealing white strap heels. She looked very elegant in a simple way. (Melissa Portrait: akizakura9. deviantart gallery/ #/ d2oymwb ) (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current =LaFemme-12172 .jpg )

"I'm Melissa Kerris," she greeted properly with an embarrassed smile.

"I'm Kandi Bryan, thank you for inviting us," Kandi smiled, kindly ignoring the embarrassment Melissa was clearly feeling.

"Oh, not a problem, I get so bored at these get togethers…" Melissa mumbled, shaking her head. Her father had excused himself with a small bow and traveled across the room to another group of people to chat.

"Not very many people to talk to?" Kandi asked, a wry grin on her face. Before Sayo had come over to America, she too had felt that same way during competitions.

"Yeah, and even if I do talk to anyone my age, it's guys who want to date me," Melissa gave a look of disgust.

"Pompous jerks, huh?" Kandi gave an empathetic smile. It wasn't like that same thing happened to her everyday…

"Yes, who think their money can get them anything they want," Melissa gave a sour face, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Some people do think that way," Sayo added in, not really having mush to say in this conversation. While she did have guys trying to get with her all through junior high and high school, none of them thought their money could get them anything. Mostly because they didn't have that much money to begin with.

"Yeah," Melissa agreed with a nod.

"I take it you're not like your father?" Kandi asked curiously. Melissa sure did seem to have some strong opinions.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm all about the business," Melissa chuckled, shaking her head a little bit. "I'm just as social as my father is."

"I see," Sayo nodded, noticing Melissa's father over by the other crowd of people, attracting even more to him as he spoke.

"Well, come on, let's sit down," Melissa gestured to her and her father's table.

"Is your mother here tonight?" Kandi asked, completely curious.

Melissa blinked a few times before smiling brightly. "No, she's on a business trip overseas right now."

"Oh," Kandi blinked in surprise. "That's cool, your mom does all the international stuff, huh?"

"Yes, she's really into other cultures," Melissa smiled as she sat down in the seat she had previously occupied.

"What beverages are in the fountain?" Sayo asked before she took a seat. She was getting a bit thirsty.

"Yeah, they're not all alcoholic are they?" Kandi nodded, curious too. Her parched throat was making itself known.

"Oh, I'll show you which one is safe," Melissa got up again and lead the two over to the drink bar.

So, Melissa got the girls their drinks and they returned to the table. They sat there and chatted for the rest of the evening before the party came to a close. After the gala was over, Melissa hailed a taxi for Sayo and Kandi to take home. It had been a very long night…


	35. Chapter 28

_**A/N: Yay! Another chapter up~ So happy that I'm finally getting somewhere! Enjoy~**_

* * *

**Chapter 28: Why Would I Wear That?**

A few weeks after the first party, Kandi got another invite from Melissa Kerris. This time it was for a cocktail party at a beach side resort. Kandi was seriously stoked for this.

"You can't say no, we're going!" Kandi grabbed Sayo's shoulders at the dance studio just before practice. She had just told Sayo about the party.

"Uh," Sayo blinked her eyes, not sure to laugh or cower.

"You just have to come with me," Kandi shook Sayo a little bit.

"Ok, I'll go," Sayo agreed, getting a little dizzy from the shaking.

"Great!" Kandi let go and bear hugged Sayo immediately after. "We'll go shopping again in a few days."

"Right…" Sayo nodded, short on breath from the squeezing.

"See you later," Kandi released Sayo and bounded out of the room to the one across the hall, where she and Kawamura were going to practice.

Sayo sighed, slumping her shoulders a bit. "Another party?" Yoshida asked her from behind.

Sayo blinked and turned to face him. "Oh, yeah," Sayo nodded.

"Just don't get too distracted," Yoshida smirked. He had seen just how eager Kandi was to go to that party. There was no way he was getting in her way. Kandi's wrath didn't seem like a pleasant thing.

"Yeah, I won't," Sayo shook her head with a small laugh.

"Don't forget we have to go shopping for our next set of costumes for the competition next week," Yoshida reminded as he motioned for her to join him. It was time to practice.

"Right," Sayo nodded. The two began their practice session for the day.

* * *

Miku told Takeshi about the article journal her boss had her doing while she was planning the wedding. She decided that the photos she wanted to go along with the article were photos of Saya, Sayo and their friends in wedding gowns. Western wedding gowns. And she wanted them to pick them out themselves. It would give each girl a sense of originality, and make the article easier to read. So, as the photographer and stylist of his own shoots, Takeshi had to first find a place that would let them rent the wedding gowns for a day or two.

However, the girls had to find the gowns first. So, Takeshi sent Saya and Sayo an e-mail with details of Miku's vision and wanted them to relay the message to the rest of the girls. Sayo had replied, asking if her two friends over in America could also join them.

"What do you think Miku?" Takeshi showed Miku the e-mail.

"Hmm, I don't think it would be a bad idea," Miku shrugged her shoulders.

"I'll let her know," Takeshi began to reply to Sayo when Miku stood from the couch in his apartment. She stepped toward him slowly, waiting for him to finish the e-mail. As he hit the send button, she slid her arms around his neck in an embrace.

He blinked and looked over at her. Miku had her face half buried in his neck with her eyes closed. She was humming, content. Takeshi only smirked and brought his hand up to her arm to touch her gingerly.

* * *

Sayo smiled at the e-mail before hopping into her comfy bed. In the morning, she was to awake and go shopping with Kandi for a cute cocktail dress for the party. Kandi picked Sayo up that morning and they headed over to Vanessa's Boutique again. Neither were as impressed this time. They had seen the store before and knew there were tons of dresses inside.

"Welcome back ladies," Lily Thomas greeted Sayo and Kandi as they entered the boutique.

"Thanks," Kandi and Sayo greeted back with smiles.

Lily had a true smile on this time. The girls' previous visit had been quite pleasant, and Lily got the commission for selling them their dresses. The two were surely here for another party held by the Kerris family. This was a nice time to be working here. And to think she was so close to quitting. "So, what are we looking for today?"

"We need cocktail dresses for a beach side resort party," Kandi's smile got wider as she said 'beach side resort'.

"Cocktail, I see," Lily nodded her head and led the girls further into the store. There were several racks in the middle of the floor holding cocktail dresses from all different designers. "Just pick out what you think you'll like, and we'll get you a dressing room."

"Thanks so much," Sayo smiled as Lily went to the back of the store to get the keys for the dressing rooms. There were already a few groups of girls and young women inside searching for prom dresses. Yes, prom season was not yet over.

Left to their own devices, Kandi and Sayo picked out many dresses each. They even picked some out for each other. Lily finally came back with the keys and found the two girls waiting with their arms full of dresses to try on. Lily only chuckled as she unlocked two of the six dressing rooms for them. Lily took the dresses and placed each selection in a separate dressing room.

"Kandi, you go first," Sayo sat down in the chair in front of the dressing rooms.

"Alright, I'll go first," Kandi nodded and headed in, closing the door behind her.

Once again, Kandi was drawn to as much color as she could possibly handle. A lot of pink, blue and purple this time around. She remembered from last time that the oranges, yellows and reds weren't so great with her complexion. So she stayed away from them. Kandi came out, one dress after another, frilly tutus, pleated skirts, and even a bubble skirt or two. They were all shot down.

Kandi finally decided to try on the one dress Sayo had picked out for her. It was a black and silver spaghetti strapped dress. The designer was Sherri Hill, and the dress was called "Miranda Lambert". The top half of the dress was a boned corset, black, with clasps in the middle for accent. The waist of the dress was accented with a silver beaded belt. And the skirt of the dress was two layers of silver material. The dress was really cute, and quite comfortable. Kandi walked out with a huge smile on her face. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = SherriHill-MirandaLambert .jpg )

"Sayo, you are great," Kandi complimented her friend as she stood on the pedestal to gaze upon herself in the dress. "This is amazing."

"I had a feeling," Sayo smirked, nodding her agreement. She had a good eye for dresses.

"Okay, this is the one," Kandi turned around, already decided on the dress and pointed at Sayo. "It's your turn."

"Alright," Sayo sighed, standing from the chair and heading for the dressing room her selection was in.

Kandi quickly changed out of her dress so she could watch Sayo. Lily greeted her as she exited the dressing room and took the dress from her. She was to place it in the back. That would reserve the dress for Kandi. So, done with her shopping, Kandi sat in the chair and waited for Sayo to emerge in her first dress.

Sayo had chosen a different palette this time around. Silver, blue, and purple. Those were the colors she had chosen this time around. This was a cocktail party, and cocktail dresses were flirty and fun. So, Sayo wanted to seem like she was having fun. Most of the dresses had pleats or a straight skirt. Nothing really fun or flirty. Until she got to the dress Kandi had picked out for her.

Kandi's choice was silver, with a hint of blue in the color. A Tony Bowls creation. The bodice was beautifully detailed with swirls of boning and rhinestones. A single strap over her right shoulder held up the dress, a grey-blue tool material folded into flowers. From the strap, all the way down the bodice, a single piece of the tool draped down in elegant folds. The skirt was the reason Sayo would never pick the dress. The skirt was ruffled with two layers of the same tool over the bottom half of the bodice, which cut off at mid-thigh and served as an under layer to the slightly transparent tool. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = TB-TS11288 .jpg )

"Now that, is cute," Kandi stood up from the chair with a giant smile on her face. She felt like patting herself on her own back. "Not to mention fun and flirty." Kandi winked.

Sayo got up on the pedestal to take a gander herself. Sayo was quite surprised. She actually liked the way the dress looked on her. She loved it. She felt like she would be able to get the attention of any guy she wanted. Maybe even Ryu's attention… She sighed at the thought of him, but tried to banish the thoughts away. "This is it." Sayo turned and smiled at Kandi.

Sayo changed back into her own clothes and handed Lily the dress so she could reserve it for her. Lily rang them up and told them a date that they could come back to pick them up. Kandi needed to have some slight alterations again.

The two left the boutique with their date set. Sayo remembered the e-mail from the previous night. "Oh, by the way," she started, getting Kandi's attention.

"What's up?" Kandi smiled as she turned the key in the ignition.

"Would you mind doing a photo shoot with me?" Sayo asked, a smile on her face.

"Photo shoot? For what?" Kandi asked, intrigued, leaving the car in park so Sayo could explain.

"My cousin's fiancé is a writer for a magazine over in Japan," Sayo began, relaxing in her seat a bit. "Her boss has her writing a journal article about planning her wedding."

"Uh-huh," Kandi nodded, understanding so far.

"She wants my friends and I to pose in wedding gowns for her article," Sayo continued, getting to the point. "The photos are really just for accentuation, but she wants them."

"Okay," Kandi nodded once more.

"I asked my cousin if he wouldn't mind you and Melissa being in the photos as well," Sayo began to finish up. "And he said it was okay."

"Wow, really? I can be in a magazine article in Japan?" Kandi's eyes widened with excitement. She looked like a little kid.

"Yeah, so do you want to?" Sayo asked.

"Do I want to? Of course I want to, sign me up! I'm ready!" Kandi cheered, so excited she couldn't stand it. "So what do I have to do?"

"Well, we have to pick out our own gowns," Sayo told Kandi. "That's all I know."

"Hm…" Kandi hummed as she began to back out of the parking space she was in. The two were quite silent on the way back to Sayo's apartment, aside from the music on the radio.

* * *

In the Zest Cantina, it was quite busy for the first time the entire day. Kiri, Mitsu and Maki were all working when Saya and Juri entered the establishment, smiling widely at their friends bustling around. Of course, there were quite a few other girls who worked there too. All the college students were finally done with their spring semester classes and celebrating their passing grades on their finals. There was nothing like a good cup of coffee to celebrate a victory over the books.

Saya and Juri sat down at the bar and waited for their friends to finally get a small break. While they waited, another of the waitresses took their order and brought them their drinks. The plan was to tell the others about the wedding dress photo shoot they were invited to. Mitsu was the only one who knew since she was Saya's roommate.

Half an hour later, Kiri, Maki and Mitsu got a break. No one was ordering anything, and nothing needed to be taken out to a table. So, they joined their friends at the bar with smiles of relief on their faces.

"It sure is busy in here," Juri greeted with a large smile. It was always good to see Kiri working hard.

"Yeah, no kidding," Mitsu scoffed, shaking her head.

"So, I have news for you," Saya started, looking at Kiri and Maki. Mitsu knew what was coming, and decided to watch the reactions of the others.

"What news? Is it about Sayo?" Kiri asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"No," Saya shook her head sadly. She hadn't heard much from Sayo in the past few months. With the time difference, it was really hard for them to get in a good phone call.

"Oh…" Kiri mumbled, feeling a bit bad about bringing up Sayo. Ever since she'd left for America, it had been hard for the girls talk about her at all. They had hardly hung out with the guys, let alone each other.

"Anyways, Takeshi wants us to do a photo shoot for Miku's new article," Saya smiled broadly.

"Really?" Kiri's eyes sparkled. She was finally going to be in a magazine article.

"Awesome," Maki smirked. She had always wondered what it was like to be a real model. Their graduation photo shoot was okay, but there wasn't a professional air to it at all. This time, it was for real.

"What will we be modeling?" Juri asked, a sweet smile on her face. The others could see through her though. She was super excited about this.

"We're going to be modeling western style Wedding gowns," Saya answered with a smile on her face.

"Wedding gowns," Juri mumbled in awe. She had seen them on television, but never thought she'd wear one herself. She had always thought of herself as the traditional type. The one to wear a Kimono.

"Yeah, and we get to pick our own," Saya nodded her head.

"Sweet!" Kiri squealed, pumping her fists by her side. "I am so excited about this."

"Wow, Western style Wedding gowns," Maki breathed, still taking in the fact that she would have the opportunity to wear one.

"Takeshi-kun still has to look around and find boutiques that would allow us to rent the dresses we pick out," Saya further informed them. "So it won't be anytime too soon."

"Still, this is awesome," Kiri gushed, feeling extremely giddy.

"Just remember it," Saya sighed, overwhelmed by Kiri's overenthusiastic reaction. "I'll let you know when the shoot is at least three weeks before so you have time to ask for the day off."

"When are we going to look around at the dresses?" Kiri prodded, she wanted to start looking already. She was way too excited about this, and it wasn't even happening for a while yet.

"As soon as Takeshi-kun finds a boutique we can rent form, slow down Kiri," Saya furrowed her brows, slightly irritated at the hyperness of her friend.

"Sorry…" Kiri mumbled, looking down at the floor like a puppy. She still had a smile on her face.

"It's okay," Saya shook her head and sipped at her drink.

Just as the conversation was ending, more college students entered, and a few tables were calling for their check. It was time for the girls to get back to work. What impeccable timing they had.

* * *

Two days later, Sayo and Kandi were off to the beach side resort party, all decked out in their dresses. As they neared the resort, Sayo couldn't help but stare in awe at the sight. Gorgeous crystal clear blue waters, tan sandy shores, white foam from the crashing waves, a beautiful blue sky with not a single cloud in it. The party was set up like a Hawaiian luau, with tiki torches lining the area, a tiki themed bamboo bar, bamboo tables under giant umbrellas to ward off the heat. However, no one was down on the beach.

Kandi parked her car and the two headed inside to find out where they were supposed to be. Luckily for them, the resort had been rented out entirely by the Kerris family for the party. All of the staff was there to greet and direct them to their destination. On the backside of the resort was a wooden patio that had steps that led down to the luau themed area of the beach behind the resort. Much to their comfort, they were not overdressed for the occasion. Despite the beach being a part of the party, every guest was still dressed to the T.

Even Melissa was wearing a delicate cocktail dress with heels. Sayo and Kandi spotted her standing with her father while talking to some guy and what looked like his son. She looked really bored too. Her rose pink Mori Lee dress caught their eye. A halter top, with silver crystals embroidered all around the neckline, the torso of the dress fabric pulled together, making the wide tulle skirt stand out. Small single crystals were sewn onto the skirt, making it look like the dress had glitter on it. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = ML-9119 .jpg )

Kandi and Sayo smiled when Melissa turned her head and spotted them. Melissa held up a single finger, signaling to them to wait for a minute. "Please excuse me," Melissa excused herself from the conversation that she was only an accessory to and walked away from her father. The guys didn't even notice she had gone, and continued on with their conversation.

Melissa joined Kandi and Sayo over by the drink station. "I'm so glad you two made it," Melissa smiled sincerely. They knew she meant it too. At the last party, after they met, Melissa stayed with them for the rest of the evening until they left. Sayo knew this would turn into a great friendship.

"Hey, thanks for inviting us again, this is awesome," Kandi gestured around to the décor and scenery around them.

"That's all my father, believe it or not," Melissa chuckled, filling her cup with punch.

"Wow, he's a great party planner," Sayo complimented, holding her cup delicately and making sure she didn't drop it.

"Oh yeah," Melissa nodded her head, lowering her cup from her face.

"The bar looks so tempting," Kandi sighed, staring at the bamboo bar down on the beach.

"Have you ever drank before, Kandi?" Melissa asked, an amused smirk on her face.

"Yeah, with some of my old friends back in high school," Kandi answered, sipping her punch. "They spiked the punch at our prom."

"You had the trouble-maker friends, huh?" Melissa smirked, taking another sip of her punch.

"Yeah, they did all kinds of crazy shit," Kandi chuckled, thinking back on her high school days, that seemed to be such a long time ago.

"Kandi, you're such a rebel," Sayo smirked at Kandi's reminiscent face, as she too remembered the kinds of troubles the guys had gotten into when she had known them. Although, they never drank alcohol or anything like that.

"But Kandi, you're almost 21 aren't you?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah, I seriously can't wait for my next birthday," Kandi answered, giving off this desperate aura.

"Why?" Melissa asked, plainly out of curiosity.

"Because, then I can do what I want, go where I want," Kandi explained, her need for independence showing.

"But aren't you living alone now?" Melissa couldn't see the value in it. If she were living on her own, she'd feel great, and wouldn't need the reassurance of a number to feel independent.

"No, I'm living in the second building on my family's property and paying rent," Kandi answered, shaking her head.

"Oh," Melissa nodded her head, understanding a little bit of where she was coming from. After all, Melissa was 22 years old and still living with her parents. Granted, Melissa's family is rich and has a large house with multiple rooms in it.

"Besides, I love the bright lights of Las Vegas, and the look of the casinos with their delicate architecture," Kandi explained a little further with stars in her eyes. "There's so much more to do there than to just gamble and drink."

"That is true," Melissa nodded, understanding just what Kandi meant by 'so much more'.

"Las Vegas…" Sayo mumbled, feeling a little out of the loop. She had only heard the name once or twice, but never really knew what it was. Or where it was. Since she didn't grow up in America, she didn't understand what they were really talking about at all.

"Oh, it's a city in the state Nevada, that's famous for the gambling casinos," Melissa began to explain, having a feeling Sayo was unsure of what they were talking about. "It's a great place for nightlife, and is known as the City of Sin."

"Oh, kind of like the Ginza district in Tokyo," Sayo nodded her head. She gained a little bit of understanding after the explanation.

"Yes," Melissa nodded her head. She had only heard about Ginza, but never actually been there.

"You've been to the Ginza district?" Kandi stared intently at Sayo, silently demanding an answer.

"Yes, of course I have," Sayo answered, closing her eyes and taking a long sip of her punch.

"I am so jealous…" Kandi muttered, a steamed expression on her face.

"Anyways, how are your competitions going?" Melissa questioned with a smile on her face, quickly changing the subject before Kandi got out of hand.

"Sayo here has been dominating the floor," Kandi held her cup in one hand and jabbed her other thumb at Sayo.

"Wow, that's great," Melissa smiled widely. "I really want to come and see you perform sometime."

"You should, it's really fun," Sayo smiled back, eyes open again.

"I'll have to find a time when I'm not busy to go see you then," Melissa nodded.

"Yeah, and just wait until you meet her partner," Kandi waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "He is so sexy when he dances."

Sayo rolled her eyes at Kandi and shook her head. The most she could ever think of Yoshida as was a brother. Although, she knew he had some feelings for her, she could tell. She just hoped she wouldn't have to endure the awkwardness of him acting on those feelings of his.

"I can't wait," Melissa smiled, her eyes twinkling enthusiastically.

* * *

Later that week, Sayo and Kandi were in another competition. This would be Sayo's third competition in America. Yoshida had taken Sayo to shop for their costumes this time around. She usually lets him go and pick out whatever. However, this time he insisted she come with him to meet the one who he got them from. That's how she found herself in the heart of the city of Los Angeles.

"Why did I have to come with you again?" Sayo muttered her question lowly as they stood in the doorway of the costume shop. Yoshida ignored her question blatantly and took large strides into the room with a giant smile on his face.

"Marc~," he sang into the empty shop.

Sayo stepped in and took a gander around. So many fabrics laying around. Lace, silk, chiffon, you name it, it was there. Scissors and wire also littered the counters. On the walls hung photos in delicate frames of dance costumes she assumed were designed at the shop and won an award. She slowly stepped closer to Yoshida and heard some rustling coming from a doorway behind the counter. Then she stopped as she got a better look at the framed photos by said doorway. Almost all of them had Yoshida in them. And two of them were of her and Yoshida from their previous competitions.

"Tama-chan?" A guy half groaned as he stumbled up to the back side of the counter.

"Hey, did you fall asleep back in the work room again?" Yoshida teased the guy with a smirk, leaning on the counter.

"Been doin' all nighters, gotta sleep every now and then, you know," Marc answered, pulling out a stool from under the counter and hoisting himself on it to sit.

"I hear ya," Yoshida chuckled, a wide smile on his face.

Marc looked past Yoshida and spotted Sayo staring at the photos on the wall. "You must be the 'Sa-chan' I've been hearin' about these past few months," he greeted, startling Sayo a little and getting her attention.

"Oh, yes," Sayo nodded and bowed, feeling a bit embarrassed by her spacey behavior. "I'm Tsukioka Sayo, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Marc Knox, it's nice to finally meet you too," he smirked at her formal tone. She was Japanese, alright. "I've heard a lot about you from Tama-chan."

"Good or bad?" Sayo asked, an unpleased expression playing her face as she made her way to stand next to Yoshida.

"What do you mean by that?" Yoshida turned his head to her, surprised by her question and expression. "Why would I say anything bad about you?"

Marc only busted out with laughter. Yoshida and Sayo both looked at him in question, a little confused. He calmed down quickly, giving her a confident smile. "All good, I promise."

"Good…" Sayo muttered under her breath.

"So, you're here about your next competition, correct?" Marc did a complete 180, going full out into business mode.

"You got that right," Yoshida smirked.

"All right, shall we start the sketching process?" Marc pulled out a sketch pad, charcoal pencil, and a box of colored pencils from under the counter and flipped the pad to an empty page. He gave Yoshida a smirk as they began to discuss details.

* * *

"Kiri!" Tsuchi called over to his girlfriend who was just approaching the station. He had been waiting for her for about fifteen minutes by now. It was just like her to be late.

"Tsuchi," Kiri smiled, spotting him and bounding over. "Sorry I'm late, Maki-chan had me doing the dishes…" she stuck out her tongue.

"It's alright, I know you're not always on time," Tsuchi smirked, razzing her for her bad habit.

Kiri only stuck her tongue out at him childishly in response. She quickly forgave him, reminding herself why they were meeting up in the first place. They were finally going on another date. It had been forever since the last time the two had a free day at the same time. Tsuchi had hinted in the most subtle way ever that they should go on a date when he set this up with her. She had to beat the bush to get the snake to reveal itself, almost literally. She gave him a sincere look before reverting to her normal, playful mask. "So, where are we going?"

"I was thinking maybe we'd go for lunch," Tsuchi started, receiving a bored look from his girl. "And then, maybe we could catch a movie or something."

"Okay, that's a good plan," Kiri smirked playfully at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Let's see how closely we stick to it…"

"Oh, really?" Tsuchi continued the banter with her, sliding his fan open and fanning himself.

"Really," Kiri nodded, turning around and heading toward the station. Tsuchi only chuckled and followed after her.

After they had boarded the train, Kiri followed Tsuchi around, almost like a little lost puppy. He hadn't told her where they were going, after all. So she didn't know when to get off, which direction to go in, or even which district they'd end up in. Her only option was to follow him and keep him in her sights.

The two ended up at a little café that sold sandwiches, crepes, croissants, and other brunch foods that are usually associated with France. Kiri's face lit up at the options of crepes. Her most favorite one to get at vendors in the park was chocolate strawberry. But, this was lunch, so maybe she'd get a sandwich with a small salad on the side. Tsuchi, on the other hand, he was ready for a big sandwich. The bread that this café used for their sandwiches may be small, but they certainly did put a lot of filling in it to make up for the size. He figured he'd either go for two sandwiches, or get a sweet treat he could share with Kiri. He saw her eyeing the crepes with a bit of drool. He could only smirk.

The two stood in line for a few minutes, mentally deciding what they wanted to order. When it was their turn, they both stepped up. "Hello, how make I take your order?" the girl behind the counter asked with a kind, service smile.

"I'd like a BLT," Kiri answered her since Tsuchi hadn't spoken up yet. "With a medium Coke."

"Okay, and for you sir?" the girl asked as she tapped away on the cash register's keyboard.

"I'd also like a BLT," Tsuchi answered, quickly taking into consideration that Kiri had not ordered the crepe that she desired. "With a medium Coke, and also a chocolate strawberry crepe."

Kiri looked up at her boyfriend wide eyed. How did he know she wanted the crepe? And how did he know which flavor she wanted? She could hardly believe he'd ordered it on his own.

"Okay, that's two BLTs, two medium Cokes, and one chocolate strawberry crepe, correct?" the girl read their order back to them. Tsuchi and Kiri both nodded in answer. "Your total is 944 yen."

Tsuchi pulled out his wallet and gathered the appropriate amount of money for the order. He handed it to the girl behind the counter and she printed their receipt. "Your order number is 15, it will be called when your food is up," she informed them as she handed Tsuchi the receipt. On the very bottom in large print, it had the number 15.

Tsuchi and Kiri found a table near the front window. Outside the café, people walked past, mostly businessmen in suits, and businesswomen in pencil skirts and blazers. Some, however, were younger people like them. Some were even couples, and groups, heading toward something exciting no doubt.

"So, how's your film studies going?" Kiri asked, looking straight across the table at Tsuchi, who was fanning himself yet again.

"It's going pretty well," Tsuchi answered, nodding his head. "We're mostly learning about film history at the moment, but it'll get more hands on later."

"That's cool," Kiri smirked. She could imagine it already, Tsuchi with a big, heavy, professional video camera on his shoulder.

"How're your classes going?" he asked in return.

"Oh, I'm mostly getting the mandatory general studies courses out of the way first, so I can focus on the more important of my courses later and not have to worry about math homework…" Kiri answered. Her lengthy reply almost caused Tsuchi to miss their order being called.

"Order fifteen up!" a male voice boomed throughout the café's interior.

"I'll be right back," Tsuchi snapped his fan shut and stood before she could say anything. A moment later, Tsuchi returned to the table and set their tray down on the table between them.

Kiri grabbed one of the BLTs and Cokes, leaving Tsuchi's on the tray. She pulled the paper off of it, revealing an oval sandwich with freshly baked bread on the outside. It looked so delicious, she just couldn't wait to dig in. But, she restrained herself and waited until Tsuchi got back and opened his sandwich.

"You know," Kiri started while Tsuchi was still getting situated. "I was shocked that you ordered the crepe…"

"Well, you were looking at the ones in the window like a kid at a candy store…" Tsuchi muttered, pulling the paper off of his sandwich.

"But how did you know chocolate strawberry was my favorite?" Kiri asked, her face showing true curiosity, and just how puzzled she was.

Tsuchi only shrugged while picking his sandwich up. "Lucky guess." he told her before taking a bite into the soft bread.

Kiri only blinked twice before shrugging her shoulders, picking up her sandwich and taking a big bite.

After they finished their sandwiches, Tsuchi got up and grabbed two forks for them to use while sharing the crepe. The thought of sharing a sweet with Tsuchi made Kiri extremely happy. Maybe it wasn't ice cream, or spaghetti, or even a drink with a heart shaped straw in it, but it was good enough for her. Even though the memory wasn't romantic, she thought back to their junior year in high school when the girls all shared a crepe on her insistence. She couldn't help but wonder what Sayo was up to in America at that very moment.

* * *

At that very moment, Sayo and Yoshida were taking the dance floor in their third competition in America. Kandi and Kawamura had performed a little bit ago and got pretty high scores. Yoshida was a little nervous, since this was probably the only dance that Kandi would possibly beat Sayo. Of course, that was because Kandi had been sexually active for a few years and wasn't afraid to be sexual in front of a large crowd. Sayo, on the other hand, was completely innocent in that area. The closest she had ever come to sexual contact was that day at the pool party when Ryu fell on top of her by accident. Not that Yoshida knew about that.

At any rate, their costumes were really amazing. Marc had done a spectacular job on them in just a week.

Yoshida had on a shirt that was nude colored and had spider webs all over it. Red and black piping lined the shirt, giving it shape. His pants were black, with red stripes down the outer sides, which could hardly be seen underneath the black tassels that were attached to give him movement.

Sayo matched, in her dress that she had decided to name Ancient Secret. The whole of the dress was the nude color with black spider webs all over. Red studded piping ran along the neckline, as well as the straps on the back holding the dress onto her body. A few gold accents were on the neckline, on her waist, and the backside of the dress. In the middle of all the spider webs were black tassels held on by the red studded piping. The hem of the dress was anything but symmetrical. Four points, one on each side of her body, in two different lengths, made up the hem. Her hair was down, and her eyes were painted with heavy eyeliner, a spider web on the outer edge of each eye to match the dress. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = ancient1_1 .jpg )(Make-up Link (I do not own this): browse. deviantart traditional/ bodyart/ cosmetic/ makeup/ ? qh = & section = &q = What +Catches +You %3F#/ d1tpl30 )

The two of them standing next to each other was really cool. You could completely tell that they were a pair. Their outfits matched completely.

"Dancing the Merengue," the announcer called over the intercom, "Tamaki Yoshida and Sayo Tsukioka."

Sayo and Yoshida stood in the middle of the floor, poised and ready to start, just as the announcer made the call. A second or two after the announcement, the music started, no vocals, completely instrumental, and the pair began their routine. As they moved, the tassels flew as Sayo twirled and Yoshida stepped along to the music. To Yoshida's surprise, Sayo had done pretty well on showing sexuality even though they were in front of a large crowd. Apparently Sayo was quite capable of dancing like no one was watching.

Kandi's eye twitched as she watched the young Japanese woman move. "I really don't know why I watch them dance," Kandi muttered, turning her head away from the dance floor. "She always pisses me off…"

"You're just jealous of all the attention she gets," Kawamura commented, keeping his eyes glued to their competition.

Kandi's head whipped to him, an irritated expression displayed on her face. But, she decided to let it slide.

In the end, Sayo and Yoshida ended up in second place, despite of how well Sayo did. Kandi and Kawamura had beaten them by just a few technical points. Sayo didn't care too much, she was happy as long as they placed well. Kandi on the other hand, was as smug as she could possibly be. She had finally beaten Sayo! And even though he wouldn't show it, Kandi knew that Kawamura was extremely happy about beating Yoshida as well.

The next competition would definitely hold high hopes.


	36. Chapter 29

**A/N: So sorry about the super long wait, I have had serious, and I mean serious, writers block. went down and I was so frakking sad. And then I went on vacation to another state, and now I have to work a lot because it's the summer... And school is coming up again, so yeah. Hopefully I can get the ball rolling again. I'm getting to a point where I really wanted to be at, so it's gonna get exciting soon.**

* * *

**Chapter 29: Just Shoot Me**

A few months after their third competition, Takeshi had called Sayo up in the middle of the night. Well, for her at least. He had wanted her to know that he was coming to America to shoot her next set of photos for the upcoming magazine article she was going to be featured in. He would be there in a few weeks. So she should have a few of her old dance costumes out and ready to be presented.

"Awesome!" Kandi exclaimed, sitting on Sayo and Yoshida's couch at their apartment when Sayo told her about the article. "You are so lucky your cousin is a photographer."

"Yeah, my friends said that too," Sayo laughed a bit.

"And apparently they're really close too," Yoshida told Kandi from inside the kitchenette. He had been making sandwiches for them to snack on while they watched a movie on television.

"Oh, that's really cool," Kandi smiled at Sayo, truly envious.

"Hey, Kan-chan," Yoshida called to their guest.

"Yeah?" she turned to look at him.

"Why don't you go knock on Kawamura's door and invite him to watch the movie with us?" he suggested with a smile. Maybe she'd be able to persuade him to join them. If he had gone over there, it surely would have been a flat out no.

"I can do that," Kandi smirked and hopped off the couch toward the door. "I'll be right back."

"Ok," Sayo nodded her head and relaxed onto the couch. She felt that she needed a little bit of relaxation. With all that had been going on and all the stress she's been having from the competitions, her body was tense at times. On the days when they didn't have to work at Club Vanguard, and they didn't have dance practice, she slept almost the whole day. Yoshida had noticed, but figured that she would be able to handle it. If she couldn't, she would surely say something to him about it.

"You okay Sa-chan?" Yoshida asked after he heard her sigh in the living room.

"Yeah, just a bit tired," Sayo answered with her eyes closed.

Just after that, Kandi came bursting back through the door with Kawamura behind her. "All right, let's get this party started!"

Kawamura only sighed at his partner's action and shook his head.

In truth, Kandi couldn't wait to head out to shop for their next set of dresses for Melissa's dad's next party. It was only three weeks away. They were going shopping after the movie.

* * *

Saya knocked on Takeshi's door and waited for him to greet her. She was actually surprised when, minutes later, she found herself knocking a second time. It took Takeshi about a minute or so to actually get to the door this time. He sounded a little rushed as he unlocked the door while asking who it was.

"It's Saya," she replied, listening to the latch being undone. The door opened to reveal Takeshi dressed in very casual clothing, his hair a bit of a mess. More than it usually was at least…

"Saya-chan, come on in," Takeshi motioned for her to come in as he headed back inside.

"Ojamashimasu…" Saya mumbled as she stepped in and closed the door behind her. She turned around just in time to see him heading toward his room. Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed him, just after swapping her shoes for slippers.

As she came to the doorway of his bedroom, she saw a big suitcase on his bed. He was packing to go somewhere. She hadn't heard from him in a while, since Sayo was usually their go-between. She had no idea why he was packing.

"What's this about?" she asked in a not too serious way. It came out more like she was slightly amused to see this.

"I'm going to America to do a photo shoot for Sayo-chan," Takeshi answered, holding two shirts up in front of him, trying to decide which one he wanted to bring with him.

"Oh, so you've heard from her recently?" Saya asked, sounding a tiny bit jealous. Sayo hadn't called her in a couple months. She was starting to get really worried. Although, the time difference made it really difficult for them to communicate any other way except email.

"Not really," Takeshi replied, suddenly deciding which shirt he wanted, tossing the one in his left on the bed and placing the one in his right back into his closet. "The magazine that wants the article called me saying they needed some photos of her in her competition costumes."

"Ah," Saya nodded her head, understanding how he must feel. All of a sudden having to travel to another country and do a photo shoot. "How long will you be there?"

"Well," he paused to explain. "I'll be there for a full week, so I have enough time to get used to the time change to be comfortable for the shoot, and spend a day with Sayo-chan."

"Wow, I wish I could go with you…" Saya nodded her head, understanding the need for a full week. She had to admit that she was jealous of Takeshi. He would be able to see Sayo, who she missed so much.

"I really wish you could too, but with your schooling, it would be hard," Takeshi sympathized. He knew just how inseparable those two had been before.

"Yeah, I know," Saya nodded, turning away from him and walking towards his couch.

"There, now I'm all packed…" Takeshi mumbled to himself as he zipped the suitcase shut. He walked out of his room, shutting the door behind him, and joined Saya on the couch.

"Ne, Takeshi-kun…" Saya started, not sure how this conversation might go.

"Hmm?" he turned his head to her, turning down the volume on the television.

"How did you know that Miku-san was the one?" she questioned shyly, knowing this might turn on a light bulb in his head.

Takeshi blinked a few times before he answered. For one, he was shocked Saya was the one asking him this, and for two, he had to think about how to word his answer right. Saya only waited patiently for him. She had a feeling it would take him a few minutes.

"Well," Takeshi started, a little shaky in his speech. "Miku-chan really stood out from all the other girls I had been with…"

Saya looked over at him with large eyes.

"She was capable of making me laugh, she wasn't very blunt about her beauty," Takeshi rambled a little bit, remembering how Miku, the model, had taken time out of her schedule to get to know her photographer. "And she was one of the only girls who didn't laugh at me for liking my English teacher from high school…"

"Wow, she really was different…" Saya muttered, not realizing how much Takeshi and Miku had gone through in order to get where they were today.

"Yeah, and that's why I love her," Takeshi leaned back onto the couch, feeling a little bit relieved. "And I want her to be with me."

Saya smiled sincerely at Takeshi. She knew that almost everything he said came from the heart. Other times he was just teasing.

* * *

"Over the highway and through the streets, to Vanessa's Boutique we go~," Kandi sang as she and Sayo got into her car.

"What?" Sayo asked, completely baffled, and yet amused, by what Kandi had just said.

"It's a little rhyme we have here in America," Kandi clarified. "I just added in my own lyrics."

"I see…" Sayo nodded her head, trying hard not to laugh.

"It actually goes like this," Kandi started, clearing her throat so she sounded a little younger. "Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go~."

Sayo only allowed herself to giggle as she turned up the radio in the car. The two said nothing and only sang along to songs the whole way to the boutique.

"Oh, by the way," Kandi had suddenly remembered something.

"Yeah?" Sayo allowed her to continue by letting her know she had heard her.

"Melissa is going to join us today," Kandi smiled, turning onto the street where the boutique was located.

"Really?" Sayo sounded shocked, she certainly didn't think Melissa would be able to fit dress shopping into her busy schedule.

"Yeah, and she's probably already there…" Kandi mumbled as they pulled into a parking spot.

"Well, we'll just have to find out, won't we?" Sayo smirked as the engine powered down, making humming noises and Kandi unlocked the doors. The two exited the car, Kandi locking the doors behind them, and headed into the boutique.

Inside, Melissa was talking with Lily Thomas. While waiting for the two girls to show up, she decided to talk to Lily about the kind of dress they would be looking for today. The party was going to be another formal one, so they'd be looking at gowns. Lily was very much prepared when Kandi and Sayo walked up to them.

"Hello again, ladies," Lily greeted with a business smile, her hands linked together in front of her. "Come this way."

"Hey, glad you could join us, Melissa," Kandi greeted Melissa warmly with a happy smile. Sayo nodded her head in agreement with Kandi, a warm, kind smile gracing her face.

The three girls followed Lily over to the wall in the backside of the store that showcased all of their long, formal gowns by designer. Even though it had only bee na few months, the store had an entire wall full of brand new dresses. Kandi's eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store with a magical wallet. Melissa on the other hand, knew the store had been ready to receive a shipment, so it wasn't surprising to her. Although, she did love dress shopping, especially with other girls. Sayo was just very much in awe from the many beautiful dresses in front of her.

"Just let me know when you girls are ready to try on your selections," Lily told them and walked toward the storage room of the store to let them browse in peace.

Since it was the middle of Homecoming season, there weren't too many girls in the store. Either they had already gotten their dress, Homecoming had already passed for them, or they were there for some last minute shopping. It was pretty dead nonetheless, so the girls pretty much had the store to themselves.

"So, where is the party this time?" Kandi asked Melissa as she sifted through gowns, pulling the ones she wanted to try and hanging them over her arm.

"It's at another hotel," Melissa answered, a little distracted from her browsing. "Daddy said it was going to be quite fun, with a fabulous DJ, and a lot of potential sponsors would be attending this time around."

"Oh, then I guess we should probably think about something unexpected…" Kandi made a suggestive face with a smirk as she pulled out another dress for her selection.

Sayo was pretty quiet, thinking about what might be unexpected. Then again, the people at these parties didn't know her personally, so maybe anything would be unexpected. Well, she had to amuse herself with the image of her and Kandi showing up in one of their dance costumes. That would truly be unexpected indeed.

"Sayo, you're really quiet, is everything all right?" Melissa asked, turning to Sayo with her arm full of gowns already.

"Huh?" Sayo blinked and turned her head towards Melissa. "Oh, everything is fine, I was just thinking…"

"Were you thinking about your home and family?" Melissa inquired, knowing Sayo was not from America originally. It had to be hard on her to be so far away from all of her family.

"…" Sayo hadn't actually thought about them in a couple of weeks. Well, aside from Takeshi, because he was coming over in a few weeks. This mention of home caused an image to pop up in her head. Ryu's face when she was boarding the plane just before she left Japan.

"You were?" Kandi stopped and turned to see Sayo when she didn't hear a reply.

"No, I wasn't…" Sayo shook her head with a small smile and returned to browsing the gowns.

"Um Hmm," Kandi nodded her head, not believing her one bit, but left the subject alone. The two could tell quite easily that it was a sore subject.

"Are you ladies ready to try on your selections?" Lily came out from the storage in the back of the store and saw their arms full. "Or would you like to continue browsing?"

"I'm ready to go, Lily," Melissa answered, turning towards the saleswoman and extending her arm towards her.

"Me too," Kandi smiled and turned around.

"And Miss Sayo?" Lily asked, peering over at the Japanese girl.

"Yes, I'm ready," Sayo nodded as she pulled out her final selection and turned to the saleswoman with a large smile.

"Great, let me grab the keys and get you ladies set up," Lily headed toward the doorway that led to the storage room. On the wall next to the doorway was a key holder that had multiple hooks, and many different sets of keys on them. She grabbed three of the sets, and motioned for them to come over to the dressing rooms.

"Miss Melissa in room one," Lily announced as she unlocked the corresponding door. "Miss Kandi in room two," she unlocked the next one after she placed all of Melissa's selections in her room. "And Miss Sayo in room three," she had placed Kandi's selections in her room before unlocking Sayo's and doing the same for her. "Take your time ladies, we're in no rush at all."

With that, Lily walked over to the register and messed around with a few things. Her co-workers came out from the storage room in the back finally, and watched the girls put on a fashion show while they pretended to help Lily.

Kandi decided to go first, be a good sport, and have some fun. She took unexpected to a different level. Every single beaded, sequined, or appliquéd dress she could find in a good color with a high slit she pulled out. Melissa and Sayo sat in the chairs and watched as Kandi strutted out in each and every one of her selections. She tried to own all of them, even though some she didn't really like the way they looked on her.

She came out in one of the dresses a second time though. She apparently had felt some kind of chemistry with the dress. And the others in the store had to admit that it was a good match with her.

The dress, a Panoply creation, was a beautiful purple fit and flare gown with a high slit up her right leg. The bodice was decorated in a way that made it look like golden peacock feathers all across it, with a sweetheart neckline. The skirt of the dress consisted of three layers of ruffle in the same fabric of the bodice, and sheer ruffled tulle over the three layers. The dress complimented her personality very well, with the slit matching her flirty side. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = Panoply-14431 .jpg )

"Gorgeous dress Kandi," Melissa commented, a small hint of jealousy slipping into her voice.

"You look great in that one Kan-chan," Sayo smiled, speaking the honest truth.

"Great, then this is the one I want," Kandi decided, letting Lily know she had made a decision and she could fill out the order form for the dress.

Melissa stood up and entered her dressing room to undress herself as Kandi got dressed in her own clothes and joined Sayo in the chairs to watch the fashion show. Most of Melissa's choices were a bit conservative. She wasn't a very showy person, so the conservative dresses made sense. It only made sense that the one she would love would be the one with a high slit.

"Wow, Melissa," Kandi started, a smirk spreading on her lips. "That is gorgeous."

"I agree," Sayo smiled widely and nodded.

Melissa gazed at herself in the mirrors. The dress was pure white, strapless with a sweetheart neckline. The bodice was fitted all the way to the hip area where it got a bit loose so she could walk. However, hers didn't flare like Kandi's did. That gave it a conservative air. Along the neckline, just under the silver lining, were silver gem-like beads to give the feeling of stars. The bodice was lined with silver lining, both along the neckline, and down the bodice length-wise, giving the air of falling stars. The skirt of the dress was covered with small, thin feathers, giving it movement when she walked. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = NC-S1226 .jpg )

"This is the one," Melissa smiled, still gazing at herself in the mirrors. A few moments later, Melissa headed back into the dressing room and changed back into her own clothes.

At this point, Sayo knew she was the only one left. She stood from her chair and entered her dressing room. Melissa took Sayo's place in the chair and waited for their friend to emerge in her fashion. As Sayo went through her selections, she had a feeling she already knew which one she was going to end up with. While she had been browsing, one dress had caught her eye in particular on the hangar. Since she knew from Takeshi that, even though it looks good on the hangar, you never know what it will look like on you. She didn't want to jump to conclusions in her head before actually seeing the dress on her body. However, when she came out in it, there was no going back.

"Oh my…" Melissa mumbled as Sayo walked up to stand in front of the mirrors.

"Where was that dress when I was looking!?" Kandi exclaimed, leaning forward and grabbing the arms of her chair.

"There is no doubt that this is the one I want," Sayo told herself as she continued to look at herself. She almost could not believe it was her standing there in that dress. If only Ryu could see her in it.

The dress, a Tony Bowls creation, was stunning. A beautiful light green as the base color of the fabric, full of colorful butterflies in all different shapes and sizes. Of course, the butterfly fabric was the overlay of the green skirt, with a slit all the way up her right leg. The dress was strapless with what you could call a sweetheart neckline. The bodice itself was a boned corset, the boning solid with sheer green fabric filling in the space and covering her abdomen. All along the neckline and the waistline, plus a little in between the areas, were different color butterfly appliqué. It was one of those hidden gems. (Dress Link: s718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ ?action = view & current = tonybowls-butterflies .jpg )

"Oh, wow," the other two saleswomen over by Lily mumbled under their breath, causing Lily herself to look up.

"Amazing…" she mumbled, taking a few seconds to regain her composure. "I didn't think we'd find anyone who would look as great as you do in that dress."

"Oh," Sayo turned around and the skirt just flowed right along with her movement. "Thank you."

"With this, I take it you girls are finished for today?" Lily smiled as she approached them.

"Yes," they all answered.

"All right then, let's get you all finished up here," Lily headed into the dressing rooms to pull the dresses they wanted to keep. Lily's two co-workers came over to help put away the rest of the dresses from their selections, since there were so many.

* * *

A week after packing his things, Takeshi found himself standing in the Narita International Airport, waiting to board his flight to America. Miku was standing with him, squeezing his hand tightly in anticipation.

"I can't believe you're going to America to see Sayo-chan," Miku mumbled, a small smile on her face. She knew Takeshi wouldn't say anything back, he was too nervous about the language barriers and the time change.

Saya had wished him good luck the last time she had seen him, and informed him she wouldn't be able to see him off because she had class. It was okay, though, he knew it was important. And besides, he really wasn't going to be gone for too long. It was only a week trip.

"Now boarding flight 183 to Los Angeles, California, America," a woman's voice boomed over the speaker system throughout the area of the airport.

Takeshi let go of Miku's hand and grabbed his carry-on from the floor. "Well, it's time to go."

"Mm, see you in a week," Miku nodded, a sweet smile on her face. In truth, she was a little relieved. With him gone, she'd be able to have all of her dress research out in the open in her apartment. And she'd be able to go try on some gowns to see what styles she liked the most.

"Mm, see you then," Takeshi nodded his head and turned toward the terminal gate. After handing his ticket and presenting his passport to the attendant, he boarded the plane and took his seat. Within a few minutes, he was resting his eyes and the plane was taking off.

* * *

At that very moment, as Takeshi boarded his plane, Sayo and Kandi arrived at the hotel hosting the party. Instead of asking the people at the front desk, Melissa greeted them in lobby. As the three of them hugged each other in greeting, Melissa expressed just how glad she truly was for them to be there.

"You really don't know how bored I used to get when I didn't have someone to talk to," she chuckled as she led them to the ballroom the party was taking place in.

"I'll bet," Sayo giggled, remembering the look on her face when they had first seen her at the first party, listening to her father and that other young man ramble on and on.

As the three walked the halls, other people around them stared in awe. They looked so elegant, people couldn't help themselves. Melissa smiled at the doorman happily, and he opened the door for them to enter. The three of them made their way over to the bar and ordered themselves something to drink. After receiving their drinks, they headed over to some chairs and sat down.

"So, Sayo, I heard that you're doing a photo shoot tomorrow," Melissa started a conversation, seeing as the sponsors were busy talking to other people around the room.

"Yeah, it's for a magazine in Japan that usually features me and Yoshida," Sayo answered, taking a sip of her drink after.

"That's cool," Melissa smiled, holding her drink in her lap carefully.

"Yeah, and she's having her photographer flown in from Japan too," Kandi added in.

"Really?" Melissa looked over to Sayo and blinked.

"Yes," nodded her head, a small smile taking over her lips. "He's my cousin."

"Wow, that must be really nice," Melissa thought back to all the family photos she'd taken in the past few years. In truth, she'd never trusted the photographers because her parents paid so much in commission.

"It is nice for the fact that I get to keep all the clothes that I model for him," Sayo giggled a bit, remembering how the girls back home would get jealous of her and Saya every time they participated in a shoot.

"Yeah, you should see her closet," Kandi butted in, sounding a bit jealous. Just like Kiri would.

"That is a good perk," Melissa smiled, peering around the room. One of the sponsors was heading their way. Seeing that, she stood from her seat and held her cup elegantly.

Sayo and Kandi looked up at her with curiosity. Melissa made a small gesture for them to stand and do the same. So they did.

"Excuse me," Melissa started, addressing the woman heading toward them. She looked as if she were in her mid 40s, wearing an elegant form fitting gown with long sleeves and a v-neck.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked before fully recognizing who was speaking to her. Not a moment later a small smile graced her lips. "Little Melissa."

"Hello Mrs. Foreman," Melissa smiled sweetly. "I'd like to introduce you to Kandi Bryan and Sayo Tsukioka," Melissa gestured to Sayo and Kandi standing next to her.

"How do you do?" Kandi greeted with a large smile.

"It's nice to meet you ma'am," Sayo bowed her head a little bit.

"Oh, you two must be the dancer girls that Matt is sponsoring," Mrs. Foreman deducted quickly. After all, the man had just been speaking about how his daughter had become good friends with the two dancers.

"Yes, that's correct," Melissa smiled at the woman. "I assume my father has informed you that he was hoping some affiliates of his would join him in sponsoring them…"

"Yes, he did," Mrs. Foreman nodded her head, looking at Sayo and Kandi once more. "And I think I will take him up on his offer."

"Really?" Melissa was taken aback. She was sure that Mrs. Foreman would pass the opportunity without a second thought.

"Yes, I've seen their records, and have high hopes for them in the future," Mrs. Foreman explained and left the three young women for the bar.

Melissa turned back to Sayo and Kandi with a giant smile on her face. "Can you believe it? You've got another sponsor!"

"I know!" Kandi exclaimed, a giant smile of her own. Sayo was plainly shocked and didn't know how to respond.

The girls continued to mingle with the potential sponsors throughout the night. A few of them were prepared to agree after seeing the two girls and hearing their records. Not too many were interested, however. They preferred to sponsor things like motocross racers, NASCAR drivers, and basketball teams.

Kandi drove Sayo back to her and Yoshida's apartment, then headed home herself. Just before Sayo got into bed that night, she got an e-mail from Takeshi.

'_Plane just landed, heading to my hotel in a few. See you in two days for the shoot.'_

She smiled at that and crawled in to her bed.

* * *

Two days later, Sayo found herself standing in front of a photo studio, waiting for Takeshi to arrive. She had all of her previous competition costumes with her on a hangar in a protective plastic bag. This way they wouldn't get wrinkled during transportation. Feeling a breeze give her chills, she decided to head inside to check in with the person at the front desk.

Not long after she entered the building, Takeshi walked in behind her. Realizing she hadn't bothered to look back, a devilish smirk spread across his lips. He walked slowly up to her, trying not to make a sound. Just as she stopped at the front desk, which was currently unmanned, he poked her on her right side. Immediately, Sayo jumped and spun around in her place, letting out a small 'eep!'.

"Ah! Takeshi-kun!" she quickly did a 180 with her mood, slinging her arms around her cousin's neck, along with all of her dresses.

"_It's good to see you Sayo-chan_," Takeshi smiled lightly and hugged his cousin back. "_How've you been?_"

Sayo let go of his neck and took a small step back. "_I've been doing good, winning competitions and going to parties_," Sayo shrugged her shoulders, slinging her dresses onto her back once again, a small smile gracing her lips.

"_Well, it's good that you're enjoying your time here in America_," Takeshi replied to her answer. "_Saya-chan really wanted to come with me_."

"_I really wish she could have, but I know she has school_," Sayo nodded, understanding what he was getting at.

"_She really misses you_," Takeshi told her, not trying to make her feel bad about her decision to leave Japan and come to America.

"_I miss her too_," Sayo nodded.

A moment after Sayo and Takeshi stopped talking, the secretary who was manning the front desk returned to the lobby and noticed the two standing in front of his desk. "How may I help you two?" he asked, setting his coffee on his desk and taking a seat behind his computer.

"Hello, we're here for the Dance Japan photo shoot," Takeshi stepped forward, answering the man in English. "I am the photographer, Takeshi Noda."

The man began to tap away on his computer to find the list of clients using the studio for the day. "Okay, photographer Takeshi Noda and model Sayo Tsukioka correct?" he inquired.

"Yes, that is correct," Takeshi answered again, completely in his business mode at this point. It was all about the money now.

"Alright, let me just check you in and then we'll head on back to your set," the man informed them and began tapping away on his keyboard once more.

After a few questions, the man lead Sayo and Takeshi back to their set inside the studio. The room was set up to look like a dance floor, and the make-up artists were ready to go when they entered the room. Immediately they pulled Sayo along with them to the boudoir to get ready for the first dress. Sayo had brought along photos of her make-up for each of the dresses she was going to be wearing in the photos.

"Mr. Noda, which dress are we starting with?" one of the make-up artists peeked their head out of the door. Takeshi was busy setting up his camera and laptop.

"Ask Sayo, we're going in chronological order by when she wore them," Takeshi answered the make-up artists' question. He wasn't paying much attention to her though…

So, they went through each one of her dance costumes. It took them almost all day. The longest part was probably the make-up application, and not the actual photo taking part of the photo shoot. Takeshi ended up with a whole bunch of good shots. The two headed over to his hotel room to sift through them for the best ones.

Takeshi made sure to send the bulk of the good shots they chose to the editor for approval. After they were sent out, Takeshi and Sayo hung out for a little while before she had to catch a taxi and leave for her apartment. They discussed how the wedding plans were going. Although, on that subject, Takeshi didn't know too much since he wanted Miku to have full control over it.

Before Sayo left, she made plans with Takeshi for the next day to hang out since it had been a while since they'd seen each other.

* * *

"Okay, seriously, Japan is like, the one place that makes some really cool horror movies, you can't tell me you don't go in haunted houses," Kandi chastised Sayo after asking her about her plans for Halloween night.

"It's not that I don't go in them," Sayo replied, feeling as if she were shrinking. "I've just participated in a lot of them over the years, so I know how they work…"

"Oh come on, you can't tell me you're not even curious about an American haunted house," Kandi's lips flat-lined in frustration.

"I never said that!" Sayo bit her lip indignantly.

"That's it, you and I are visiting some haunted houses in my neighborhood on Halloween night."

And that was how Sayo ended up spending Halloween night walking around Kandi's neighborhood, visiting the haunted houses built by the residents. Kandi insisted that they dress up in a costume. Sayo couldn't refuse, Kandi was far too demanding to even think about retaliation. Kandi wanted to dress up as a race queen, so Sayo was forced to wear the same thing. All the guys in the neighborhood stared at them as they walked around. Honestly, two young, good-looking women, walking around in a skimpy top with a mini skirt and knee high boots wasn't that common.

"Why did I have to match…?" Sayo muttered under her breath, feeling quite exposed with all the guys staring at her longingly.

"Come on Sayo, let's hit our first house!" Kandi cheered as they walked up to the entrance of the first haunted house on the block.

"Right…" Sayo sighed, knowing there was not going to be an easy way out of this for her.

There were strobe lights flashing on the door, skeletons and grave markers placed in the yard as decoration to scare younger people. Sayo knew a decoration when she saw one. Kandi just smiled nervously as she entered the house first. No lights were on inside, so it was quite dark. The first person, dressed as a vampire, popped out of a cardboard coffin.

"Bleh!" the actor yelled, holding his hands up by his face like claws. "I vant to suck your blood!"

Sayo's lips flat-lined as Kandi let out a shriek. The two continued onwards, as more monsters continuously popped out at them. A werewolf, a zombie mumbling about brains, a corpse bride, a banshee, and a clown with a chainsaw. The only one that freaked Sayo out at first was the clown, but she quickly realized the chain on the chainsaw wasn't moving, and it was only sound effects.

The two finished the house, coming to the front door of the house, and being greeted by the owners. "How did you like the house?" the lady asked as she handed the two a handful of candy each.

"Oh, I was so freaked out, the costumes were great!" Kandi answered with a smile on her face.

"I had fun watching her freak out," Sayo answered, keeping a neutral tone to her voice. She didn't want the owner of the house to be offended that she thought the house was mediocre.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it," the lady smiled back, waving at them as they turned to leave and a set of young couples exited the haunted house with tears in the girls' eyes.

"So, how was your time with your cousin last week?" Kandi asked Sayo as they traveled to the next house on the block.

"It was a lot of fun, I showed him the club Yoshida and I work at, I showed him the dance studio, and I showed him a few other things around the city that I've gotten to know," Sayo answered with a smile on her face.

"It's a shame he couldn't stay longer," Kandi shrugged her shoulders. She hadn't met the guy, but she was sure he was cool to be around.

"I really wish you could have met him," Sayo smirked. "You probably would have thought he was hot like my other friends back in Japan…"

"Oh, he's good looking?" Kandi turned to Sayo and stopped in front of the next house they were going to enter.

"Yeah, you could say that," Sayo's smirk persisted. She had Kandi dangling on a rope now.

"Do you have a picture?" Kandi smiled, showing her pearly white teeth.

"I probably do," Sayo pursed her lips together as she bent down and pulled out her phone from inside her boot. She took her time finding a good picture of her and Takeshi together from the previous week during their escapades around the city.

"Come on, I can't wait," Kandi began to squirm from the anticipation.

"I'm looking," Sayo answered, finally selecting one of her and Takeshi smiling in front of the Staples Center. They had eaten lunch at Katsuya across the street. "Here," she turned her phone screen toward Kandi and showed her the picture.

"Oh, he is handsome," Kandi smiled as she studied the picture. "You took him to the Staples Center?"

"We only stood outside, he wanted to see it in person," Sayo answered, flipping her phone shut and returning it to it's home inside her boot. "We ate at Katsuya."

"Oh, I bet that takes you home, doesn't it?" Kandi chuckled a little.

"It did, just a little," Sayo nodded her head and the two headed towards the entrance to the haunted house they had been standing in front of.

The night continued as the two visited every haunted house on Kandi's block. When the two stood where they had began, Kandi stood in front of Sayo with a triumphant expression. "So, what did you think?"

"It wasn't too bad," she answered, and Kandi felt herself inflating. "But I wasn't scared…" and Kandi deflated instantly.

"Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em…" Kandi sighed as the two hopped into her car. She took Sayo back to her apartment and then returned home for a good night's sleep. They had dance practice in the morning.

* * *

The next day, Takeshi was to board his flight back to Japan. Sayo met up with him at LAX before the plane took off. She was sad to see him leave after such a short visit, but she knew it couldn't be helped. She was to be here in America for who knows how long. And he was to be in Japan, because that was where he belonged. Yoshida stood back as the two cousins spoke.

"I'll let you know what the editor says about the photos, and we'll send you a copy of the magazine once it's finished," Takeshi informed Sayo about the business end of the trip.

"Okay, that'll be great," Sayo smiled at her cousin.

A moment of silence filled the air as the two prepared to jump into emotional areas of goodbye. Well, more like, until next time, with these two…

"Tell Saya and Miku-san that I miss them," Sayo smiled sadly. She felt really bad that she couldn't really help Miku out much. And she missed Saya more than anyone. Well, almost.

"Yeah, I'll let them know," Takeshi nodded his head in compliance. "I'll let you know when I've found a place for you to rent the bridal gowns from."

"Oh, that'll be great," Sayo smiled. Then, she suddenly had a thought. "Takeshi-kun, would it be okay if Kandi and Melissa joined me in my photo?"

"Sure, I don't see why not," Takeshi put a thoughtful hand on his chin for a moment. "It'll help Miku with the presentation of western wedding gowns in the article, so it wouldn't hurt to have a couple American models."

"Oh, good, I'll let them know as soon as I can, I'm sure they'd love to do it," Sayo gushed, a happy smile beaming on her face.

"That's what I wanted to see before I left," Takeshi mumbled to himself as he grabbed the handle of his carry-on.

"Hm?" Sayo looked at him curiously.

"I wanted to see that bright, happy smile of yours to know that this was the right thing for you to do," Takeshi told her. "Until next time, Sayo-chan."

With that, Takeshi turned toward the loading dock as general boarding for his flight was called on the speakers. Sayo smiled.

"_Until next we meet._"


	37. Chapter 30

**A/N: So I totally just realized that the previous chapter should have already been up for months... So, enjoy my late realization with a double posting!**

* * *

**Chapter 30: I Really Shouldn't Talk About This With You…**

For the past month, Saya had been researching on the internet, in her spare time, about western wedding ceremonies and how things work in American weddings. Early on, she found out about the groomsmen and bridesmaids of American tradition. That was one of the first things she told Miku about. Now, she and Miku had a chance to get together and do some joint research on the subject.

"Hey Saya-chan, so glad you could make it," Miku greeted Saya as the two sat down across from each other at a Starbucks coffee shop, mostly because they had free Wi-Fi.

"I'm glad to help out, Miku-san," Saya returned the greeting with a smile.

"So, is there anything else you've found out about?" Miku asked as her laptop powered on.

"Well, the western ceremony is mostly a Christian ceremony, so if you had the ceremony in a church, it would work," Saya answered, looking up thoughtfully.

"I see," Miku nodded, still waiting for her laptop.

"There are several different types of religious ceremonies though," Saya continued. "Catholic, Lutheran, as well as a ceremony that doesn't contain religion."

"Oh," Miku nodded her head as she signed in to her laptop.

"Also, a young boy and girl are chosen to be the ring bearer and flower girl, respectfully," Saya smiled. "I thought that was a cute touch."

"That does sound interesting, what purpose do they serve?" Miku asked, waiting for her desktop to finish loading.

"The ring bearer carries the rings down the isle on a pillow," Saya had to think about what she had read. "And the flower girl walks down the isle before the bride does, tossing flower petals on the walkway."

"Hmm," Miku nodded her head as she brought up a web browser. "Shall we research some more?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Saya smiled and focused on the laptop screen.

The two were silent as Miku typed in the search subject and they browsed the results. They made little sounds as they found interesting things on the pages. Many different images of American ceremonies, wedding dresses, and receptions were displayed as the websites spoke about them.

"So, I guess most American weddings are themed," Saya mumbled after reading the current article.

"It would seem so," Miku nodded her head. "But I don't really have a theme…"

"That's okay, I don't think it has to have a theme," Saya reassured Miku with a smile.

"True," Miku nodded once more and continued to browse the results of their search.

"So, what kind of wedding cake are you going to have?" Saya asked after she saw a result saying something about cake.

"Oh, I think I'll do a marble cake, that way it's an even amount of chocolate and vanilla, so everyone is happy," Miku answered with a happy smile. She had at least thought about the cake. "It'll probably be two layers."

"Well, at least you know what kind of cake you want," Saya smiled.

"It's the one thing I'm sure about," Miku sighed.

"Have you gone looking for a dress yet?" Saya asked out of curiosity.

"No, I haven't yet," Miku shook her head solemnly.

"Well, why are we sitting here?" Saya stood up suddenly. Miku looked up at her curious and surprised. "Let's go have you try on some dresses."

"Oh, sure," Miku closed the browser and put her laptop in sleep mode for travel.

"And while we're at the salon, I'm sure the attendant will love to help us out with your western wedding research," Saya smiled as the two exited the Starbucks and headed for a bridal salon.

* * *

Melissa stood in front of Sayo and Kandi in her adorable Tony Bowls cocktail dress. A green and white decorated strapless bodice, a green sash adorned with a white rose, and a white skirt, top layer of tulle with green sequin appliqué scattered all around it. She wore green heels to match with the dress, and had her nail painted green. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ TB-TS21104 .jpg )

"My father has been having a lot of fun with these parties, I hope you know that," Melissa chuckled as she took a sip from her glass.

"I'll bet," Kandi chuckled along with Melissa. "I've been having a lot of fun with these parties too."

"I'm sure you have," Melissa smirked at Kandi.

"You certainly have, without a doubt," Sayo added in, just before putting her glass to her mouth.

When purchasing their dresses, Sayo and Kandi opted to pick out each other's dress again. It worked quite well.

Sayo had chosen a Favianna creation for Kandi. It was a strapless, modern blue cocktail dress. The blue material used on the dress was interesting. When the light hit it just right, the material would turn from the blue to a more blue-violet color. Down the left side of the dress, a decorative zipper was placed going from the top to the bottom of the dress, creating a small slit at the top and hem. The whole dress is rouched from top to bottom, giving it a fitted look. Kandi wore a pair of teal pumps with the dress. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ FA-6812 .jpg )

Kandi had chosen a lovely piece from BG Haute for Sayo. Quite an interesting dress itself, the main attraction of the dress is a large sideways bow located on the right hip, covering the right half of the bodice. While the outside of the fabric of the dress is black, the underside, shown from the lower half of the bow, was red. The skirt of the dress is folded intricately, giving off the illusion of a fan. Sayo paired the dress with a pair of red peep-toe heels. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ BGHaute-F21031 .jpg )

"By the way, you two look amazing in those dresses," Melissa winked at them as she noticed a few of the guys across the room staring at the three of them.

"Oh, thanks," Sayo smiled sweetly, not understanding the wink fully.

"So," Kandi leaned in towards the two for more privacy with a smirk on her lips. "Who's checking us out?"

Sayo blinked, realizing that was what the wink meant. And then she felt the eyes on her back. She hadn't been able to feel the burning sensation of eyes on her back since the last time Ryu had stared at her back. It had been a while since the last time she thought about him. She didn't want to start a trend. Sayo focused on the conversation.

"There are three guys across the room staring at us," Melissa whispered back to Kandi in answer. She motioned with her head towards the guys. Normally she wouldn't act so middle school at one of her father's parties, but it was just too irresistible at the moment.

Kandi stood up straight again and took a peek over at them. They were cute American guys. Tall, blonde, piercing eyes, dressed in suits. Well, only one of them was blonde, but you get my point.

"Ooh, they are cuties," Kandi smirked, instantaneous dirty thoughts sprouted in her mind. "What I could do with them…" she mumbled to herself.

"I don't even want to know what you're thinking right now…" Sayo muttered after hearing Kandi's thought. She wasn't even daring to turn around and look at them. She knew she would instantly compare them to Ryu, and she didn't want to do that.

"Yeah, I don't think I want to know either…" Melissa chuckled, taking another sip from her glass. "Why don't you go talk to them Kandi?" she smirked.

"Oh, you really think I should?" Kandi smirked back, almost looking devilish.

"Sure, why not," Sayo shrugged.

"Alright, I'll go for it," Kandi decided and turned to go face the guys.

Sayo and Melissa stood where they were and watched Kandi introduce herself to the three guys. The blonde one took immediate interest. The two of them talked for a bit while the other two guys started their own conversation, completely forgotten by their friend. About an hour later, and many, many drinks later, Kandi informs Sayo that she'll be leaving early. Apparently they were going to have an "after hours affair".

"Don't worry Sayo, I'll take you home," Melissa told Sayo with a smile after Kandi sauntered off with her boy toy.

"Thanks Melissa," Sayo smiled. She let it go quickly, Kandi deserved to have some fun, even in that aspect…

* * *

Kandi stood in the middle of the dance floor, posed with Kawamura, waiting to start their routine for this competition. Hopefully they'd be able to win against Sayo and Yoshida again. However, Kandi doubted they would. This was the Waltz. She had a terrible time keeping her posture in check, and usually gets bored with the music. The Waltz just wasn't for her, it really wasn't.

Her dress was beautiful though. The majority of it was white. The whole skirt was white, the gloves were white, and the material connecting the top to the skirt was white. From the neck to the middle of the skirt, including the gloves, small red sequins were scattered all over. The red sequins tied in with the flower brassier under the white material of the top, the flowers that made the halter of the dress, and the two flowers that connected the flowing veil to the back of the skirt from the gloves. To match the red in the dress, her eye make-up and lipstick were red as well. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ BD-SG530 .jpg )(Make-Up Link (I do NOT own): browse. deviantart traditional/ bodyart/ cosmetic/ makeup/ ? q = red + make-Up #/ d3135ed )

Kawamura matched her, though in the opposite way. His top was white with the red sequins, however, his slacks were a bright red with a white stripe going down the outer sides of the legs.

"Focus, Kandi," he whispered harshly to her just before the music started. Not a second later, they started their routine, gliding across the floor with ease and grace.

Sayo and Yoshida sat on the sidelines and watched their friends.

"_Kan-chan really is good, isn't she?_"Sayo mentioned to Yoshida with a smile.

"_Yeah, she is,_" Yoshida nodded his head, and glanced down at Sayo. "_But you're really good too._"

"Thanks," Sayo looked up at him and smiled at him happily.

He only smiled back, taking in her cuteness as she turned her head back to the dance floor to watch. He knew that Sayo was a few years younger than he was, but he couldn't help but be drawn to her. There was something about her that a guy just couldn't hate. Maybe it was her looks, but he was pretty sure it was the way she smiled. He noticed that, while she tried her best to act mature and confident, she was quite naïve to the world.

The music for Kawamura and Kandi's dance ended and they took their seats next to Sayo and Yoshida, waiting for their scores.

"Kandi, you were really great out there," Sayo gushed with a happy smile to her friend.

"I guess, thanks Sayo," Kandi was taken aback. Normally, when speaking to your rival, you would act like they did okay, but not great. They could have done better. But Sayo wasn't like that. Kandi was still in rival mode.

A minute later, Kandi and Kawamura's score showed up on the board at the head of the stage. They were leading at the moment, but Sayo and Yoshida hadn't danced yet. Of course, they were next to go. The two stood up and walked onto the dance floor and took their stance.

"Dancing the Waltz," the announcer came on over the intercom, "Tamaki Yoshida and Sayo Tsukioka."

A moment later, the lights dimmed and a spotlight fell on the two.

Sayo stood in a blue dress, sleeveless, styled like a Chinese cheongsam. White cloud-like appliqués and stars were placed evenly on the entire dress. Five frog ties were sewn onto the front of the dress down the middle in a line. The gloves also had the frog ties on them, as w3ell as the stars, but were a sheer blue fabric. The veil connected from the wrist of the gloves to the lower back of the dress, sewn on with two frog ties. Her eye make-up was lines of a lighter shade of blue and a bluish white streaming from the inner corner of her eye, out just past the outer corner of her eye, stopping at a star. The base of the star was the bluish white, with an outline of the other blue. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ BD-SG1593 .jpg )(Make-Up Link (I do NOT own): katelynnrose. deviantart art/ Starlight- blue- D- 204861747 )

Yoshida was similarly dressed, his shirt resembling a Chinese suit for a male, in the same blue color, with the stars on it as well. His pants were solid white to even out the colors.

Just after the spotlight hit them, the music began, and they started their routine. The whole audience, including the other dancers in the room, stared in silent aw as the two glided effortlessly around the dance floor. Sayo had a natural grace about her that made Kandi steam. However, what had gotten the audience silent was the expression on Sayo's face. So sad, so contemplative, and yet so loving all at the same time.

Why was she so expressive? The song reminded her of Ryu.

* * *

Hayato sat on the floor of the apartment he roomed in with Ryu, watching TV in silence while Ryu lounged behind him on the couch reading a book. What book, Hayato didn't care. It was a book, end of story. It had been almost a year since Sayo had left Japan, and Ryu's nose had been stuck in a book during every moment of free time the guy had. If he wasn't studying, he was working, in class, or reading some random book he found in the school library that had sounded interesting.

Hayato had known Ryu for too long now, and could read the guy like a book. The reading was just a way to keep his mind occupied so he didn't linger on thoughts about a certain person. He had proved it to himself a while ago, on a night similar to this one. Hayato could barely stand it anymore. He wanted his best friend back. There was no way he'd be able to bring Sayo back from America, but he could at least bring Ryu back to the reality of it.

He was a grown man now, he could deal with it like one.

Hayato then shut off the TV and stood from the floor, causing Ryu look at him in confusion. Although, he didn't put the book down, he just continued to look at Hayato, waiting for him to say something.

"We need to talk," Hayato started, sounding very serious.

"…" Ryu said nothing in return, only raised an eyebrow in question, sitting properly on the couch and placing his bookmark in his place.

Hayato sat down next to Ryu and wondered where to start. Oh how Hayato that was. Make a plan and go for it, but don't think about how to put it into action. Ryu continued to wait for Hayato in silence, getting a bad feeling as he saw the wheels turning in Hayato's dense brain.

"You know," Hayato started, his voice a bit lower than normal. The subject was sensitive after all. "It's getting close to being a year now…"

Ryu raised an eyebrow for a moment, confused by Hayato's words. But it only lasted a moment as his brain kicked into gear and figured it out. Ryu moved his blank stare to the black screen of the TV, intent on keeping it there.

"I'm sure the girls are worried about her," Hayato admitted. After all, Saya had called him a few times to spill her sorrows of missing her counterpart. It had to be hard on her. Really hard.

"Probably," Ryu muttered out, still staring down the black screen of the TV.

"Look," Hayato turned to Ryu with a stern face, "you need to talk about what's on your mind, not keep it locked up inside."

Ryu only blinked.

"You know I'll listen to you," Hayato told him point blank. That's what friends were for, after all. "And I won't tell anyone else."

"Right," Ryu scoffed at the last bit that came out of Hayato's mouth.

"Seriously Ryu," Hayato put on his serious face, Ryu saw it out of the corner of his eyes. "I mean it."

Ryu blinked once more and looked over at his best friend. The guy was being sincerely honest. Ryu sighed and closed his eyes. This would be a long, sleepless night for him after this conversation.

"But…" Ryu mumbled, to himself mostly, "I really shouldn't talk about this with you…" and he made a sour face. He remembered what happened last time he talked about the girls with Hayato.

"That's just mean," Hayato mocked a hurt face, knowing what Ryu was thinking.

Ryu shook his head with a chuckle in his throat. "I really just wonder why she left in the first place…" Ryu admitted out of nowhere.

Finally the conversation had started. "You know, I do too," Hayato admitted. "Aside from the obvious reasons, of course…"

"Dancing," Ryu said emotionlessly. He hadn't seen her perform any of the Latin dances, but he was sure they were good, remembering the few times he had seen her dancing.

"Yeah," Hayato nodded his head.

"Wish she would have told me she was leaving…" Ryu murmured lowly to himself, not intending for Hayato to hear him say it out loud, but feeling the need to get it off his chest. The silence in the room offered him no comfort, as it usually would.

"…" Hayato only looked over at Ryu with sad eyes. Since he didn't want Ryu to see, he looked away toward his bed. He didn't know how to respond to that.

Ryu closed his eyes painfully and pinched the bridge of his nose to banish away bad thoughts. "Damn it…"

Hayato looked down at his lap, waiting for his friend to regain his composure. Obviously it was too much for the guy to handle. That emotion of his that he kept hidden from the world. That emotion that he didn't know how to handle. The one emotion he couldn't figure out, yet knew exactly what it was.

"So," Hayato started his own part of the conversation, taking the focus away from the girl who left.

Ryu blinked and glanced over at Hayato, waiting for him to continue.

"I think I'm going to ask Saya-chan if she'll go out with me," Hayato confessed.

Ryu blinked twice and stared at his roommate. "Really?"

"I'm serious," Hayato nodded his head, a bit nervous about the whole situation. "But I don't know what she'll say…"

"…" Ryu raised an eyebrow, and it stayed this time. He had never seen Hayato this nervous in all the time he's known the guy. He must really be serious if he's that nervous.

"I have this feeling that she'll say no…" Hayato muttered, already feeling defeated.

"It'll be alright," Ryu reassured his best friend with a small smile.

"Thanks Ryu," Hayato smiled back.

* * *

By now, it was the beginning of December. Every other night, Sayo and Yoshida had been performing at Club Vanguard since the first week they arrived in America. Just a couple days ago, they had been personally asked by a bride-to-be to perform as the entertainment at her upcoming wedding. The DJ she had hired originally cancelled on her the prior week, so she had been looking for a replacement. She hadn't seen them perform before, so that had been the first time she had. Yoshida agreed.

The bride-to-be, Jessica Martin, gave Yoshida all the details of the wedding reception. The location, what time to arrive, even what to wear and sing. Since Jessica loved Christmas, and had met her fiancé on Christmas day, the wedding was Christmas themed. Poor Sayo had just a few days to learn ten different Christmas songs that weren't traditional.

And now, here they stood, on a white stage decorated with cotton, a snowy backdrop, in a hotel ballroom at the front of the room. Yoshida wore an all white suit, complete with a white bowtie. Sayo simply wore a white form-fitting cocktail dress with white pumps.

Sayo stood there silently as Yoshida introduced the couple as they made their entrance and then played the wordless instrumental slow jam for the first dance of the now-married couple. After the two finished and sat down to eat, Sayo and Yoshida were to perform. The first song on their list was a song by Mariah Carey, which Sayo had heard before thanks to Mariah Carey being popular worldwide.

"_I don't want a lot for Christmas_

_There is just one thing I need_

_I don't care about the presents_

_Underneath the Christmas tree_

_I just want you for my own_

_More than you could ever know_

_Make my wish come true_

_All I want for Christmas is you"_

Sayo continued to sing the rest of the song as the guests all took turns between eating to look back at her. They had never heard of nor seen these performers before, and were shocked by the talent. A bunch of the little kids got up and started dancing while waiting for their food. Sayo only smiled at them while she was singing.

Lucky for Sayo, the radios and stores all around had been playing these Christmas songs starting on the last Friday of November. It was easy to memorize a song when you heard it so much. She knew that while she was singing these songs she'd have to block out a certain person and put her brain on auto-pilot.

As her first song came to an end, everyone had gotten their main course and were already digging in. The dancing children had been called over by their parents when the food arrived. The next song she wasn't familiar with when they got the list, just like most of the other songs… She snapped her fingers to the beat to keep herself in time.

"_I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus_

_Underneath the mistletoe last night_

_She didn't see me creep_

_Down the stairs to have a peek_

_She thought that I was tucked up _

_In my bedroom fast asleep"_

Sayo sang with a small hint of sassiness and danced a bit to the beat where she stood. Since the music was more like a big band instead of a pop song. By this time, the kids were done eating and back out on the dance floor. All they wanted to do was have fun. She was happy to know that the next song was sung by Yoshida. She'd have a bit to relax and grab them a small snack and drink.

As soon as her song was over, Yoshida's started. Sayo walked off the side of the stage and went to grab them a glass of water and a small plate of fruit from the salad bar on the left wall. By this time the adults were all finished eating, as well as the newlywed couple, and were mostly out on the dance floor. The main couple was slow dancing along with the song.

"_I've been to Paris, London, LA_

_I've felt the tropical sun on my face_

_This Christmas we don't need to get away_

'_Cause our love is like a holiday"_

Yoshida finished the song and started Sayo's next one, accepting the fruit plate and glass of water from her. Sayo smiled wide as she got ready to start singing her song.

"_Santa can you hear me?_

_I have been so good this year_

_And all I want is one thing_

_Tell me my true love is here_

_He's all I want just for me_

_Underneath my Christmas tree_

_I'll be waiting here_

_Santa that's my only wish this year"_

The main couple had fun dancing to this song, and the bride was singing along.

Sayo was happy she got to take a break now. It was time for the newlywed couple to do some traditional things. First, the bride took the microphone and thanked everyone for coming out and celebrating with them. Next, she called all the single ladies to the dance floor. It was time for the bouquet toss. Sayo stood out on the edge, since she was a single lady. She felt very awkward standing there as the other women jumped and fought over the bouquet. The next event was the groom taking off the garter belt with only his teeth. Sayo had never seen anyone do this before, so it was interesting to her. After the groom got it off successfully, he gathered all the single guys on the dance floor and tossed it. This was when it got really embarrassing.

Each of the singles who caught the two items had to come back out to the dance floor and take the bride and groom's spot respectfully. The woman sat in the chair, giggling nervously and blushing like mad. The man stood in front of her holding the garter belt.

"You have to put it on her dude," the groom told his friend with a devilish smirk.

The guy smiled and nodded his head. He knelt down, garter belt in one hand, and using his free hand, lifted the woman's right leg by her heel. Then he proceeded to slide the garter belt up her leg to her thigh. Sayo put a hand on her mouth as a way to hide her shock. Not one person in Japan would do that. Well, maybe some, as she remembered Tsuchiya and Yabuki. But really, not many people in Japan would do this as it is very scandalous. Yoshida saw her reaction and smirked. The two had time to eat their fruit.

Then, the best man grabbed the microphone and made his speech. And the final speech was made by the father of the bride. After that, Yoshida began the next song. It wasn't a Christmas song, but it was a very good slow song. He sang it as well, so Sayo only had to sway along with the beat. She also had to remember the lyrics for the next song, which she was going to be singing.

"_Your love is like a river_

_Peaceful and deep_

_Your soul is like a secret_

_That I never could keep_

_When I look into your eyes_

_I know that it's true_

_God must have spent_

_A little more time on you"_

Sayo continued to sway along with the music until the song was over. She watched as all the couples in the room had grabbed each other and were now slow dancing, gazing meaningfully into each other's eyes. She was pretty sure they would stay out as her song came on, since it was a good slow dance song too.

"_I don't want to light a fire_

_Unless it will warm your heart_

_I'm playing no holiday songs_

_I need you to sing your part_

_And baby if I could have_

_Just one wish come true_

_I don't want to spend_

_One more Christmas_

_Without you"_

Without warning, Sayo's thoughts went straight to the previous year. The anniversary was coming up. She absentmindedly touched her earring that she had gotten from Ryu last Christmas. She sang the song truthfully, with his image in her head. Yoshida noticed the change in her demeanor. She was singing with her emotions bared. He wondered what she was thinking about. As the song came to an end, a single tear fell down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly and placed a smile on her face. It was Yoshida's turn to sing.

"_Outside the wind it seems so cold_

_Your heart is frozen like the snow (snow)_

_And there's no one home to keep you safe and warm_

_Your eyes are red because you've cried (cried)_

_You fell asleep by the fireside (fireside)_

_But there's one thing you should know_

_On this Christmas day baby_

_You don't have to be alone"_

Sayo smiled lightly, swaying with the beat of the song once again as Yoshida sang. The next song he had was quite upbeat, so she put on a very happy, energetic smile. She was ready for the Latin dance moves to come out, she was so used to them by now. After all, the next song was by Ricky Martin.

"_Ay, ay, ay, it's Christmas_

_And I don't know what to do_

_Ay, ay, ay, it's Christmas_

_And I don't have a gift for you_

_I can give you ay, ay, ay_

_All you need is ay, ay, ay_

_Un poquito ay, ay, ay_

_On this Christmas night"_

On the instrumental parts, Sayo did a little Latin dance number, to emphasize the energy of the song. All the kids were dancing around like silly people, smiles plastered on their faces. Sayo let herself calm down as she prepared to sing the next song. A newer song with a reggae feel to it.

Sayo swayed to the beat as she sang it with a smile and an airy tone to her voice. She watched everyone in the crowd do the same. The couples sang along while gazing at their companion with a warm smile.

"_Kiss me underneath the mistletoe_

_Show me baby that you love me so_

_Oh oh oh_

_Kiss me underneath the mistletoe_

_(Kiss me under the mistletoe)_

_Show me baby that you love me so_

_Oh oh oh"_

The newlywed couple took a moment, as Yoshida kept the background music going. It was time to cut the cake and have a slice. Sayo took this time to drink some more of her water. The final song was a good one that just about all the stores played. Sayo didn't have to sing since the song was by an orchestra. After everyone was done with their cake, Yoshida played Carol of the Bells. Not long after the song was over, the reception was over and the bride and groom were thanking everyone for all their gifts and for coming out once again.

* * *

A week after the wedding, it was time for another competition. This was to be their first team dance competition. Sayo and Yoshida, together with Kandi and Kawamura, and one other team from their studio were to perform together. So they had been practicing together, while practicing their solos separate from each other.

Kandi was familiar with the other team, but the three from Japan weren't, so there was a very anticipated meeting on the first day of practice. Savanna and David Morris was the third pair. The two were married and had met through their dancing careers. Savanna was a very pretty ginger, fair skin with a light spray of freckles across her cheeks.

They were going to be dancing a Samba to Baby Boy by Beyonce. It was a little hard to figure out how exactly they were going to choreograph their dance, but they were up for the challenge.

It was their time to perform, and they were as ready as they could possibly be.

"Dancing the Samba, Team 3rd Street," the announcer came over the intercom and introduced their team. A moment later the song started.

All of them were clad in purple of some shade. The guys all had on loose black pants and a purple button down, decorated to match their girls' dress. The purple on the guys' shirts matched the girls' dresses.

Savanna and David were the first to perform their solo. Savanna had on a beautifully decorated halter wit a low cut back. In the middle of the front and back of the dress, white shiny flourishes streamed upwards. On the front of the dress, the streams met with the same pattern of flourishes on the waist at the neck line. In the middle of the swirls small fuchsia jewels were placed as accents. The skirt was a hi-lo, lined with fringe around the waist, landing at the same length as the front of the skirt itself. The base of her dress a darker shade of traditional purple. She was the happy medium between Sayo and Kandi's dresses. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ LD-SG1531-1 .jpg )

Kandi and Kawamura were next after Savanna and David. Kandi's dress was called Violet Blaze, and was accurately a violet color, with lighter shades of fuchsia to accent the flame design. The top was a halter style, the straps the fuchsia color, with one purple studded strap going from the middle of the top connecting to the fuchsia strap on her right. Four straps of the same fuchsia color connected the top to the skirt, which was form fitted. Flames were depicted on the bottom of the skirt, and the hem was folded for ruffles in a handkerchief fashion. Her eye make-up was a dark blue-violet on her top lid, pointing out and up, a lighter fuchsia-purple color on the bottom half of her eye pointing out and down, with a white stick-on jewel between the points. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ Violet_ Blaze .jpg )(Make-up Link (I do NOT own): podie611. deviantart gallery/ ? Q = violet + killer #/ d20dehk )

Sayo and Yoshida were the final couple to do their solo before the group came back out together to finish off the routine. Sayo's dress was called Purple Rain, and she loved the way it shimmered under the light. A dark purple as the main color, and bits of black strands on the skirt made the dress the darkest of the three. Halter style neckline, a deep v and open back, starting from the front side of the dress at the waist gave Sayo some extra sex appeal. The whole dress was lined with black, and covered in silver sequins that gave it the shine in the light. As a means of keeping the dress on her body, the black lining was crossed at the back along the waistline of the skirt. The same crossed pattern was implicated on the front of the dress between the v to hold up the top. Her eye make-up corresponded with name of the dress and feel of the dress. Back eyeliner as the base, silver eye shadow was spread over the inner half of her eyes, blended together with a dark shade of purple on the outer half of her eyes. Small dots of multi-colored sparkles were placed on the outer edge of the dark purple eye shadow, giving off the feel of stars in the sky. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Dance % 20 Dresses/ Purple _Rain .jpg)(Make-Up Link (I do NOT own): helianthusmay. deviantart art/ Starry -night -sky -195130860 )

Three more groups performed before the end of the competition came. The three couples waited anxiously for the results to be announced. Sayo had her eyes closed to calm her nerves, Kandi was chattering in Kawamura's ear, and Savanna and David were squeezing each other's hands.

"Third place goes to Team Heaven's Path," one of the three judges announced. Applause went around the room as the team came up to receive their award.

"Second place goes to Team Hillside," another of the three judges announced. Applause went around once again as the team approached the judges to accept their award.

"And first place," the senior judge started, pausing for suspense, "goes to Team 3rd Street!" Applause erupted in the room as Kandi jumped up with a happy 'Yes!'. The three couples approached the judges to accept their awards and shake the judges' hands.

Their first team competition, and it was a winner.

* * *

On Christmas Eve, Kandi and Sayo found themselves joining Melissa at another of her father's parties. The final one of the year was a formal party, as well as a Christmas party for his workers and company partners. The three young women stood by the fruit salad bar, making plates of fruit, chattering about things that had happened during the year.

"So, Sayo," Kandi started, deciding which piece of watermelon she wanted. "I overheard Tamaki telling Kawamura about some guy that had called out your name before you got on the plane last year…"

Sayo heard the words tumble out of Kandi's mouth and she froze on the spot, her eyes wide. The piece of cantaloupe that was caught in the serving tongs fell back into the pile as her grip loosened on the object, and she subconsciously held her breath. How did Yoshida know that it was a guy that had called out to her? Had he snuck a peek while she was staring at Ryu in complete shock? That was the only explanation.

"He said that guy was pretty shocked to see you boarding," Kandi continued as she moved from the watermelon to the honey dew. "And that the two of you were staring at each other."

"What? Does Sayo have a secret admirer back in Japan?" Melissa teased, plucking out a piece of cut pineapple from the platter and placing it on her plate.

"Maybe she does…" Kandi smirked smugly, not looking at Sayo.

Sayo continued to stay frozen in her spot. She was too shocked to move, or say anything in her own defense. Her eyes were starting to get dry, but she couldn't bring herself to blink it away.

Melissa had noticed Sayo wasn't moving with them, and hadn't said anything in response to Kandi's razzing. Melissa, being a kind friend, concerned for the girl, moved back to Sayo in order to try and snap her out of it. A male worker of her father was coming up on her, so she wanted to avoid any kind of commotion. "Sayo?" Melissa waved her hand in front of Sayo's face. "You okay?" she whispered.

Meanwhile, Kandi walking down the fruit salad bar alone, talking to herself, in her multicolored dress made her look a little bit like a crazy person. Yes, Kandi's dress was a multicolored Jovani creation. The outer print was mostly green and blue, swirled with yellows and other colors, creating a sort of exotic look. The inside of the dress was pink. A shiny pink. The dress had a sweetheart neckline and was a hi-lo hem on the skirt. So the inside pink was very visible. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ Jovani4259 .jpg )

Kandi didn't even realize she was moving away from her friends.

"Sayo? Come on," Melissa continued to try to snap Sayo out of her freeze. She had yet to succeed. She snapped her fingers in front of the girl's eyes.

Sayo suddenly inhaled sharply, blinking furiously, and continuing to breath heavily. She closed her eyes to calm herself and recompose. Slowly her breathing returned to a normal pace, she opened her eyes and used the tongs to grab the piece of cantaloupe she had picked out before and placed it on her plate.

"Are you okay?" Melissa asked her again, concern lacing her voice heavily.

Sayo turned to her friend with a small smile, if it could be called a smile, and told her, "I'm fine."

The two continued down the fruit salad bar and joined Kandi, who hadn't even realized they weren't there. She turned around with a triumphant smile on her face and eyed Sayo. "So?"

"So what?" Sayo asked, a monotonous tone slipping out.

Kandi looked at her with a confused expression. "Weren't you even listening?"

"Sorry, I kind of dozed off a bit…" Sayo looked away, not wanting to let the girl win and see her nervous about the subject she had brought up.

"…!?" Kandi stared at Sayo with her jaw slack. She couldn't believe this!

Melissa stood between the two, having half heard Kandi's rambling. She had gone on about how Yoshida had described the guy, and pondered some inquiries about Sayo's relationship with the guy and how it would adversely effect her relationship with Yoshida. Honestly, it was just the musings of a jealous friend.

Hopefully, Melissa thought, Kandi would look at her blue dress and calm down a bit. After all, blue was a calming color, or so they say. Melissa's Studio 17 dress had a one shoulder sweetheart neckline, and was also a hi-lo hem on the skirt. The bust of the dress was a darker shade of blue, bedazzled with sparkles, and just below the bust line, the bodice is rouched all the way to her mid-upper thigh. On the left side of the end of the rouching, a large dark blue fabric rose sits right where the skirt flows down behind her. The inside of the dress is a dark blue as well. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ S17-12279 .jpg )

"Let's just go sit down, okay?" Sayo headed away from the confrontation and toward a table near the stage. On the right end of the stage, a large Christmas tree, fully decorated, stood tall, probably about 12 feet tall, and was crowded at the bottom with wrapped presents. None of which had nametags on them.

That would explain the raffle tickets everyone had gotten when they entered the room…

Kandi and Melissa hadn't followed, Sayo figured they went for drinks. She sat alone, poking at her grapes and other fruit on her plate with her plastic fork, not really hungry anymore. Caught deep in her thoughts, she subconsciously played with the single earring in her right ear. She ran her fingers idly on the pearls' smooth surface, going down the line, one by one, lingering on each for a few good seconds before drifting to the next one in line, and finally landing on the incredibly smooth surface of the sakura petal jewel. A flash of nostalgia passed her face, it was almost Christmas again.

A lot of the guys in the room stared at her, obviously intimidated by her stoic beauty. To them, she seemed hard to approach. Her Panoply dress didn't help the guys' guts a bit. A sweetheart neckline, which fit her well and accentuated her bust, in a black and white leopard print, a layer of black fabric over the abdomen, giving the illusion of a corset. From the waist down, the grey skirt flows down, with pick ups creating layers, with the inside of the skirt an assortment of black and white animal prints covering the fabric. Another hi-lo skirt. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Fancy % 20 Dresses/ PA-14458 .jpg )

Meanwhile, over at the bar, Kandi and Melissa were finally at the front of the line.

"What do you think she'll want?" Melissa thought out loud as she perused the menu. She saw many things that she liked herself, and tried hard to think back on what Sayo had drank at the previous parties.

"I want a virgin strawberry daiquiri," Kandi ordered, not really paying attention to Melissa.

"Okay, and for you Ms. Kerris?" the bartender inquired, turning his attention to the young woman in question.

"One ginger ale," Melissa answered, and skimmed through the other soda options. "Ah, and one peach soda." She looked up and smiled at the man behind the bar.

"Coming up," and the bartender turned away from them to get their orders ready.

"So, what do you think was up with Sayo back there?" Kandi questioned, leaning on the bar and turning toward Melissa.

"I'm not sure, she seemed super spacey though…" Melissa answered, not sure how to describe Sayo's reaction.

"Yeah," Kandi nodded her head, thinking a bit on the past year she'd spent with the girl. "You know, she never really talks about her life back in Japan…"

"Hmm, maybe it's hard for her to think about being away from her family," Melissa reasoned, shrugging her shoulders. She knew that if she had to leave her father for an unknown amount of time and not be able to see him, she wouldn't want to think about missing him all the time when she was supposed to be having a good time.

"Maybe," Kandi shrugged, agreeing with Melissa and deciding that she would just ask Sayo about it when she got back to the table.

"Here you go, one ginger ale, one peach soda, and one virgin strawberry daiquiri," the bartender called out their order as he handed them the drinks.

"Thanks," Melissa smiled and the two young women took off toward the table Sayo was sitting at spacing out.

The two of them noticed a bunch of guys staring at Sayo as she sat there, poking at her food yet again. Melissa set the peach soda down in front of Sayo. "Here you go, Sayo."

Sayo blinked at the fizzing pale pink drink and looked up at Melissa. "Thanks, Melissa."

"Not a problem."

"Hey, Sayo," Kandi pointed at Sayo as she sat down in her chair in front of her fruit plate. "Who is the guy that Yoshida was talking about?"

"…" Sayo blinked a couple times at the question, remembering what had made her spacey in the first place, and decided that she should answer, otherwise Kandi wouldn't stop asking about it. It would keep coming up. Incessantly.

"Well?"

"He's a friend," Sayo answered, hoping that might be enough. But when she glanced over at Kandi from the corner of her eyes, she knew that wouldn't be enough. Not by a long shot. Even Melissa seemed interested in the topic.

"Okay…" Kandi eyed Sayo skeptically, knowing for a fact that the girl was hiding something.

"We met in high school, but we're just good friends," Sayo answered honestly. Even though the 'just good friends' part made her gut twist in discomfort.

"Ah, that would-be high school love," Kandi leaned back with a smirk on her face, daiquiri in hand. "Such a romantic you are."

"I told you, we're just good friends," Sayo repeated, her gut twisting even more, because, deep down, she knew she wished they were more than that. She'd dreamt that they were more than that. If only…

"Mmhm," Kandi nodded her head as she sipped her daiquiri.

"I hadn't told him I was leaving, but I guess one of the girls had told him, and he showed up just as we were boarding the plane…" Sayo recalled, that feeling of complete shock from hearing his voice calling out her name and seeing him standing there, Hayato right behind him. That slightest bit of confusion, which you could only see if you squinted really hard, staining his face.

"Oh wow," Melissa breathed, completely taken by the bitter sweetness of the story. The distant expression that passed by Sayo's face signaled to her that memories were playing in her friend's head. That guy must be important to her.

"Hmm, so that's why he said he had to drag you the rest of the way onto the plane that day…" Kandi mumbled out, finally able to put together the puzzle with those missing pieces.

"May I have your attention please," Mr. Kerris, Melissa's father, came on over the speakers and every head in the room turned to the stage. He stood on the left end of the stage, opposite of the tall tree and pile of presents. "It is time to reveal the winners of this year's door prizes!"

The man continued to smile as he picked a volunteer from the crowd to pull numbered tickets out of a plastic jar without looking. Many people won the gifts, and not one single number that the man called out didn't have a recipient from the crowd. Of course, there weren't enough gifts for all of the guests, but the lucky ones who did win got wonderful prizes.

Since Kandi and Melissa's focus wasn't on her anymore, Sayo went back to idly playing with her earring, her most treasured gift in the world. And, instead of poking at her food, she would occasionally sip at her drink.

The only thing on her mind was what she should get Ryu as a thank you gift for the next Christmas that she did spend with him… Or, at least, in the same country as him.


	38. Chapter 31

** A/N: Yay! Another chapter! I'm back on the ball now~**

* * *

**Chapter 31: Dresses Galore!**

A couple months after the Christmas party, Takeshi had called Sayo up in the middle of the night. Well, for her at least. Again. He had finally found a place for them to rent bridal gowns from, so she and her friends should totally go to the place and pick out some dresses pronto. He would be there in a few weeks. Sayo, Melissa and Kandi were going to be done after the other girls.

"Awesome!" Kandi exclaimed, sitting on Sayo and Yoshida's couch at their apartment when Sayo told her the news. "We should totally call Melissa and go start trying on the dresses."

"Yeah, we can do that," Sayo agreed. The sooner they figured out which dresses they wanted the better. It wouldn't be long before Takeshi got there.

"Like, right now."

"Sure…" Sayo nodded, not realizing what Kandi had said. It took her a second. "Wait, now!?"

"Yeah, now."

"I don't know if Melissa can make it," Sayo worried a little. They didn't know Melissa's schedule very well. And, from what they had heard, she seemed to be quite a busy person.

"So that's why we call her," Kandi explained.

"Well, go ahead and call her."

"Yes, I shall do that right now," Kandi pulled out her cell phone and dialed Melissa's number. After it rang the first time, she put it on speaker phone.

Yoshida wasn't home. Kawamura had invited him out to a bar to have some guy time. Sayo was a little wary of it, she wasn't sure if she wanted to see Yoshida drunk…

After two more rings, Melissa answered her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Melissa, it's Kandi," Kandi greeted with a giant, overly happy smile.

"Oh, hey Kandi, what's up?" Melissa asked, sounding a tiny bit preoccupied.

"Sayo and I were wondering if you wanted to join us today for some shopping?" Kandi explained, trying not to give away the secret. Sayo had asked Melissa about the photo shoot at the last party they attended, and she had agreed to join them.

"Sure, what time?" Melissa asked again, still preoccupied.

"In about ten, maybe fifteen minutes," Kandi answered, still all smiles.

A few seconds of silence followed, along with the tapping of fingers on a keyboard. Apparently Melissa was on the computer. "Okay, where are we going?"

"Just meet us at the Starbucks downtown," Kandi answered. "It's a surprise."

"Okay, I'll see you girls there," Melissa answered.

"Alright, see you," Kandi smiled and hung up the phone. Kandi flipped her phone shut and smirked at Sayo in triumph.

"Wow, I'm actually surprised she said yes…" Sayo admitted.

"It's the Kandi effect," Kandi shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, we should probably head down to that Starbucks if we want to make it in time," Sayo told Kandi as she stood from the couch.

"Yeah, I guess we should," Kandi followed suit.

"By the way, do you know where this bridal salon is?" Sayo asked Kandi, slipping on her shoes by the door.

"Oh yeah, I know right where it is," Kandi smiled, following Sayo out the door and down the stairs.

"I should probably let Yoshida-kun know that we're going out…" Sayo told herself, pulling out her phone and texting her partner.

* * *

Miku and Saya were able to round up the other girls and drag them to the boutique they were going to rent the gowns from for their photo shoot. Today, they were going to pick out the dresses they wanted to wear for it. As they entered doors, a sea of white dresses met their eyes, and they could only stare in awe. There were so many young women in the boutique, looking at dresses, discussing with their party about what they think of the dresses, and standing on a pedestal in front of a mirror and their party to show off what they were trying on.

"Hello ladies, do you have an appointment for today?" a young woman, looking to be in her twenties, greeted them kindly with a business smile.

"Yes, we do," Miku stepped up to the front of the group to take charge.

"Okay, please follow me, and we'll get you checked in and assign a consultant to you," the young woman motioned for them to follow to the desk by the door that housed four computers. "What name is the appointment under?"

"Noda," Miku answered. Saya blinked, keeping her attention on the young woman while the others let their eyes wander over to the dresses. By the desk there was an assortment of bridesmaid's dresses, as well as dresses for the mother of the bride.

"Noda Takeshi?" the young woman asked, slightly confused, as she found the appointment information.

"Yes, that's my fiancé's name," Miku nodded her head. "We're here to rent dresses for a photo shoot."

"Ah, yes, I remember the store manager talking about that appointment being today," the young woman nodded her head and then began to think as she typed in some additional information on the file. Once finished typing, she printed the file information for the consultant to use.

"Look at all these dresses!" Saya heard Kiri squeal in a hushed tone to Mitsu, Maki and Juri like a little girl.

"I know," Mitsu and Juri both answered, sounding just the same as Kiri. Saya rolled her eyes. Maki only nodded her head in agreement.

"Please, follow me," the young woman led them to an area of the store that was a bit more out of the view of most of the patrons. Since their picks were going to be in a publication, the manager wanted them to be away from the public eye. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise now, would we? "Have a seat ladies, your consultant will be with you shortly."

"Thank you," Miku smiled at the young woman just before she turned to leave and return to her post at the door.

"So, why do we need a consultant?" Mitsu asked Miku, curious if the people at the store didn't think they could pick out their own dresses.

"It's just what they do here," Miku answered, feeling a bit the same as Mitsu, but holding her tongue on the matter.

"Hello ladies," another woman greeted them as she approached, a clipboard in her hands, and big happy smile on her face. "My name is Saiga Kagome, and I will be your consultant today."

"Nice to meet you," the girls all returned the greeting in unison.

"So, who is my bride?" Saiga asked with an oblivious smile. Apparently she hadn't read the file or been briefed on the situation…

"Technically, I'm the bride," Miku answered, "however, we're here on business."

"Oh?" Saiga blinked at Miku's answer and ran her eyes over the file contents. "Oh, you're the photo shoot group, I see."

"Yes," Miku smiled and nodded her head.

"So, who will be trying on dresses today?" Saiga smiled at them again.

"The five of them will be," Miku answered, motioning to the five young women sitting on either side of her. "I'm here to supervise."

"I see, then, shall we get started?" Saiga smiled, and the girls perked up. "Who wants to go first?"

"Me!"

* * *

"Hey girls," Melissa greeted Sayo and Kandi as she walked in to the Starbucks where the two girls were waiting for her. They'd only just arrived a few moments before themselves.

"Hey," they both turned and smiled at their friend.

"So, where are we going shopping?" Melissa asked with a bright, innocent smile playing her lips.

"It's a boutique just down the street," Kandi informed Melissa, vaguely answering the girl's question, while ushering her out the door to her car. "Follow us ok?"

"Alright…" Melissa blinked, following Kandi's directions obediently.

The two pulled out of the parking lot in their cars, Melissa following Kandi about a mile down the street from the Starbucks. They parked in the back of the building, since the backside of the building was actually the entrance. Right on the glass double doors, the name of the boutique was written in white. Brides by Stella.

"A bridal boutique?" Melissa was slightly confused as they entered. "What's up?"

"We're doing a photo shoot," Kandi squealed, her hands balled up into fists, shaking excitedly in front of her chest.

"What?" Melissa's eyes were wide, surprised by Kandi's words.

"Yeah, my cousin's fiancé is doing an article on the planning of their wedding," Sayo began to explain. "He's going to be photographing us each in a bridal gown, remember, I told you about this a while ago…"

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Melissa remembered the night Sayo had originally asked her if she wanted to participate in the shoot. "He finally found a place for us to rent the gown."

"Yeah, and I am so stoked," Kandi pumped her fists just before they opened the doors to let themselves in.

"Welcome to Stella's, how may I help you ladies?" a young woman greeted them from behind the small check in desk right by the door. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, we don't have an appointment," Kandi answered the woman's second question.

"We're here because a man by the name of Takeshi Noda called about renting bridal gowns from you for a photo session," Sayo answered the woman's first question before Kandi could mess it up.

"Oh, I see, the Japanese man that called the other day," the woman looked them up and down. "You must be the models then…"

"Yes."

"Alright," the woman got up from her seat and walked around the desk. "Please, follow me." Melissa, Sayo and Kandi looked at each other and then followed the woman. She led them to a small area away from the main floor, an alcove away from a couple other dressing rooms with its own personal dressing room.

"Your consultant will be with you in a moment, so please wait here."

And the woman left them to their own devices.

* * *

Three days after they went trying on dresses, the girls all gathered at a studio for the photo shoot with Takeshi. He had already received the dresses, and had them set aside in wardrobe with each girl's name on their respective dress. The set was a white backdrop with wedding-like decorative props on the sides, and colored lights to manipulate the backdrop color so the dresses didn't end up blending into it.

"That was a lot of fun, trying on those wedding dresses," Maki smiled at the others, each clad in a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. They brought their own heels to wear with the dresses.

"Yeah, it really was," Juri agreed with a large smile on her face.

"That Saiga-san really knew her wedding gowns, and body types," Mitsu smirked, remembering how their consultant, Saiga, had cooperated with them in every way.

"You got that right," Kiri agreed nodded her head.

"Well, let's have fun today too," Saya stepped in front of them before they entered the room.

"Mm," the others nodded their head. Saya turned around and opened the door to the studio Takeshi had set up in.

"Hey girls, I see you brought your shoes," Miku greeted with a large smile on her face. It had been almost a year since she'd been in a photo studio. She was looking forward to this.

"Hi Miku-san," Saya greeted and all the girls smiled. Behind Miku, Takeshi was setting up his camera and laptop.

"Have a seat, I'll let Takeshi-kun know you're here," Miku gestured toward the chairs around a small table by the food tables.

"Okay," Saya and the girls all nodded, following their instructions.

"Ooh, they have dragon fruit," Kiri noticed and sped over to the table to make herself a plate of fruit and veggies.

"Oh that girl…" Maki sighed, heading over to the table with the other girls.

"Takeshi-kun," Miku started, placing a hand on his shoulder lightly.

"Hm?" he hummed, focused completely on his camera.

"The girls are here, what would you like them to do?"

"Have Juri-chan go into wardrobe, she'll be first," Takeshi answered, almost immediately after hearing her say 'the girls'.

"Got it," Miku smiled, slid her hand off his shoulder, and headed over to the girls' table.

Kiri and Mitsu were standing at the food table, making their plates of food. Maki, Saya and Juri were sitting at the table, boxes of shoes on the table in front of them.

"Juri-chan," Miku started, getting the girls' attention. "You'll be the first, so you can head in to wardrobe now while Takeshi-kun finishes setting things up."

"Ok," Juri nodded her head, stood, and grabbed her shoebox, heading for wardrobe.

"The rest of you are free to lounge for now," Miku smiled at the remaining girls. She turned around and headed back to Takeshi, who was finishing up with his camera.

About fifteen minutes passed by and Juri came waltzing out of wardrobe, a giant smile on her face. She was practically glowing. The girls smiled at her, knowing the feeling well. She stood in front of the white backdrop, almost blending into it. The dress from the collection TWO by Rosa Clara was a floor length, strapless, princess dress with a sweep train. The color was just a hint of off-white, fitted from bust to waist, and then flared out in large pleats. Just under the bust line was a little bit of bling; a silver clasp created a rouched look on the bust area. Her shoes, which barely poked out from under the hem of the skirt, were white sandal heels, decorated with a bow on the front strap, and a single sling strap on the heel to keep the shoe on. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ JuriWedDress .jpg ) (Shoe Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ JuriWedHeels .jpg )

Takeshi watched her come out with a soft expression on his face. This wouldn't take very long with them looking so beautiful in these dresses. "Maki-chan will be next, have her go in wardrobe now so she's ready when I'm done with Juri-chan."

"Understood," Miku nodded, heading back over to the table to give Maki her instructions.

While Maki was in wardrobe, Juri posed for all of her solo photos. It was too easy with the dress doing all the work. Her soft expressions made her look like a happy bride. Like an actual bride. Takeshi had told her to think of things or people that made her happy. So she thought of the girls, their adventures in high school, and Hiro.

Juri posed for her last shot when Maki came waltzing out of wardrobe. Well, floating was more like it. The ladies in hair and make up put her hair up in an elegant bun, and decorated it with a crystal embellished hairpiece. Her dress, a WATTERS Brides piece, was a white strapless, floor length a-line dress with a chapel train. The bodice of the dress was rouched from side to side, cutting off at the waistline, allowing the skirt to make her seem taller from the simplicity of it. The wardrobe people gave her a lovely necklace to add some detail to it. She had to pick up the bottom of the dress when she walked o she didn't step on it, which showed off her shoes. Maki also chose a sandal heel, with a strap over the top of the toes, and another strap wrapping from the inside of the shoes, around the opposite side and back around the heel to the inside of the shoe again, embellished by a bow. A small strap connected the wrap-around strap to the outside of the shoe. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ MakiWedDress .jpg ) (Shoe Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ MakiWedHeels .jpg )

"Have Kiri-chan go in now," Takeshi noted to Miku as Juri and Maki switched places in front of the backdrop.

"Got it," Miku nodded, following Juri over to the girls' table. By now, Kiri and Mitsu were done eating their fruits and veggies. "Juri-chan, there are light coats in wardrobe that you can wear over the dress if you feel you might spill something."

"Oh, yes, I should probably get one, just to be on the safe side," Juri smiled kindly and walked back into wardrobe for the over coat Miku had mentioned. Kiri had already entered and was dressing.

While Kiri got dressed and made up, Maki did her solo photos. Maki had to work just a little bit harder to get the look she wanted. Out of all the girls, her dress was the most simple. Since the dress itself was so white, Takeshi added a slight hint of blush pink to the backdrop so she didn't become a floating head, torso, and arms. With the blush background, she stood out effectively. She did a profile shot that showed off the jewels in her hair.

Kiri came out just before Maki finished her final shot. "This is, by far, the most amazing thing I've ever done so far in my life," Kiri stated as she strode her way over to the backdrop.

"Glad to be of service," Takeshi told her as he snapped the last photo of Maki.

"Thanks," Kiri smirked, standing a little bit away from the edge of the backdrop. Kiri's dress had a sweetheart cut on the neckline, but was thrown off by the one shoulder strap that cut through it on the right side. The cut of her Sarah Houston dress was sheath with a chapel train. The bust of the dress was rouched under two bedazzled straps crossing across the bust, connecting the shoulder strap to the dress itself, and creating a flowing strap down the front and back of the dress, which Kiri couldn't stop playing with… As she walked, her shoes poked out from under the dress. Kiri chose crystal embellished heels; the crystals were placed along the main strap from the front of the ankle strap to the knot on the toe straps of the heels. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ KiriWedDress .jpg ) (Shoe Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ KiriWedHeels .jpg )

"Mitsu-chan will be next, so send her into wardrobe," Takeshi informed Miku.

"Mitsu-chan," Miku, tired of walking back and forth, pointed to the door to wardrobe from next to Takeshi after getting Mitsu's attention. It worked.

Kiri posed with much pride in her dress. She placed her hands on her hips, tossed her head to the side arrogantly, and even played with the straps on her dress freely. However, her photos came out really well. Takeshi was almost surprised.

Mitsu came out right when Takeshi snapped Kiri's final shot and she headed over to the table with the others. Mitsu headed for the backdrop, carefully trying not to step on her heavily beaded gown. Yes, Mitsu wore a Sottero & Midgley creation, white fabric under an opaque overlay decorated with silver beading and crystals. A beautiful strapless sheath dress, fitted from the bust to the waist, with a chapel train. Immediately under the bust sat a white belt with a single silver crystal in the middle of a lace bow on the left side of her body. When she picked up the bottom of the dress, her shoes showed. Beautiful silver strap heels, bedazzled with crystals, and a pattern creating a large diamond on the top of her foot. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ MitsuWedDress .jpg ) (Shoe Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ MitsuWedHeels .jpg )

Before Takeshi could tell Miku who was next, which was obvious at this point, Saya stood from her seat and entered wardrobe on her own. Mitsu posed for photos easily, since the dress did most of the talking. Much like Juri's shoot. Mitsu had soft, ambiguous expressions on her face, until they got to the end. Her mind wandered and she thought about her own wedding in the future. Her expression gradually became one of happiness and pure bliss.

"Mit-chan, I'm so jealous of your dress, you look great in it," Kiri told her best friend with a smirk, only half meaning the jealous part.

"Yeah, it's so beautiful," Juri agreed, holding her plate of fruit close to her face so she didn't spill anything. Hopefully…

"Sottero my dears," Mitsu simply replied as she finished her shoot.

Mitsu sat down at the table before Saya even came out of wardrobe. "I guess her dress is harder to get on than ours…" Mitsu mumbled as they all waited for Saya's debut. Not a minute later, Saya stepped into the doorway as everyone of the girls were focused on their plates.

"Pnina my dears," Saya announced as she stepped towards the backdrop.

"Wow, it looks even better this time than last time…" Kiri mumbled lowly, the other girls nodding their agreement.

"Saya-chan," Takeshi blinked in complete shock. He wasn't sure about the dress when he first saw it on the hangar, but it was amazing on her.

"I know, it's a bit revealing…" Saya blushed lightly, sliding her hands on the bodice of the dress. Her Pnina Tornei gown was a light gold in color, strapless mermaid dress with a chapel train. The skirt of the dress was pouf-y with pick-ups adorned with bows, the waist adorned with a slightly darker gold belt. However, the eye-catcher of the dress was the bodice. The bust was completely covered, but the abdomen was emphasized by the opaque material, solid sewn patterns, and boning of the corset. The dress was definitely a show stopper. Her shoes were sandal heels with a t-strap on the ankle, and four thin straps on the top of the toes, each part adorned with jewels in the shape of a bow. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ SayaWedDress .jpg ) (Shoe Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ SayaWedHeels .jpg )

Saya posed for all of her photos feeling a tiny bit self conscious. However, the feeling fluttered away when she thought about the things she'd had to wear in the past, and what Hayato had already seen her in. Takeshi had even seen her in pajamas anyways. So this wasn't really something she should be embarrassed about.

Once Saya was done with her solo photos, Takeshi had all the girls gather in front of the backdrop for the group shots. He told them to leave some room on the side. He'd be photo-shopping Sayo and her two American friends in after he had their photos. Once they were done, they all changed back into their own clothes, thanked Takeshi for his work, and left the studio. Takeshi had some of the wardrobe staff deliver the dresses back to the boutique they had rented them from. Then, he looked through the photos with Miku to pick out which of the solo photos they wanted to use in the article.

The American shoot was in a week.

* * *

Exactly a week later, Takeshi arrived in America once again. Another lovely photo session with his dear cousin, only this time there would be two American girls with his cousin. He didn't know these two Americans, but he wasn't going to be overly picky this time around. The way the girls acted in their dresses was something that happened naturally. That natural reaction a woman felt when she put on a dress that made her feel absolutely beautiful, no matter what anyone else said.

The day after his arrival, Takeshi checked in at the studio he would be using for the session. Inside the room, the company's people were already setting up the food tables, placing the dresses inside of wardrobe with delicate care, and already had the white backdrop and lights set up for him. All he really had to do was set up his laptop and camera.

However, the girls hadn't arrived yet, so he had a bit of time to set up and decide who would go first. Although, it probably wouldn't help to think about the line-up, since he'd never seen the other two before… He continued to set up, concentrating hard on the process so he didn't screw it up, like he had done a few times before. Of course, those times, he wasn't working with his cousin.

Just as he finished the set up, Sayo and the two Americans walked through the doors of the studio room clad in white t-shirts and jeans, carrying shoe boxes. They were chatting about things that Takeshi didn't know about, must've been some American gossip. He only half understood what they were saying. After all, his English was only general knowledge of travel and some business dialogue.

"Oh, Takeshi-kun," Sayo greeted him with a giant smile. She scurried over to the table by the food and set her shoe box down, and then scurried over to his side.

"Hey Sayo-chan," Takeshi replied, still concentrating on his set up. "_Give me a minute, I'm almost done with set up_," he told her.

"Ok," Sayo nodded and led the two girls over to the table and gave them a quick tour of the room. She also explained to them a little about how Takeshi did his shoots. They made themselves each a plate of fruit and waited for him to approach them.

It took him a little longer than he wanted, but he finally finished the set up, and walked over to Sayo and the two girls. "_So, how was the session with the girls?_"Sayo asked him before he could open his mouth.

"_It went very well_," he replied, taking in the features of the two young American women sitting next to Sayo. They looked quite lost regarding the conversation happening next to them.

"_How is Miku-san?"_ Sayo inquired once more, munching on her piece of watermelon.

"_She's doing very well, really excited about her article now_," he answered. "_And having a fun time planning the wedding_."

"_That's good_," Sayo smiled. She had one more piece of watermelon on her plate and then she would be done eating.

"So, how about an introduction?" Kandi finally spoke up, tired of being left out of the loop.

"Oh, that's right," Sayo smiled sheepishly, embarrassed about forgetting she was there with friends instead of by herself, like she was used to.

"I am Noda Takeshi, Sayo-chan's cousin," Takeshi introduced himself with a small half bow, understanding Kandi's question perfectly.

"It's nice to meet you," Melissa told him with a sweet smile on her face. "I am Melissa Kerris."

"And I'm Kandi Bryan," Kandi's lips twisted into a playful grin. "Nice to meet cha."

Takeshi only nodded his head in response to their greetings. Placing a hand on his chin, he finally decided who he wanted to go first. "Ms. Bryan, I will take your photos first, so please head into wardrobe."

"Oh cool," Kandi stood up quickly, a big happy smile taking over her playful grin. She grabbed her shoe box and took off into wardrobe.

"She's way too excited for this…" Sayo mumbled, looking after Kandi.

"When I start to take Ms. Bryan's photos, Ms. Kerris, please head into wardrobe so we can continue without having to wait for the next model," Takeshi informed Melissa how he would like to proceed after Kandi.

"I understand," Melissa nodded her head obediently and continued snacking on her fruit.

"And when you start Melissa's photos, I'll go in," Sayo finished what Takeshi was going to tell her before he even got it out of his mouth.

"Mm." Takeshi nodded his head and headed back over to his camera.

A few minutes later, Kandi came sauntering out of wardrobe in her beautiful lace Jim Hjelm gown. The fit of the dress was a trumpet style, with a sweep train. The dress had straps made with the lace, which scalloped along the v-neck. Around the waist sat a gold fabric sash. Her shoes were sandal heels, a strap all the way around the foot, with straps connecting it to the sole, and decorated with a large fabric flower. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ KandiWedDress .jpg ) (Shoe Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ KandiWedHeels .jpg )

"Kandi, you look amazing in that dress," Sayo commented with a large smile.

"I do, don't I?" Kandi chuckled vainly as she stepped in front of the white backdrop.

"You really do," Melissa fueled the fire. It would make for really good pictures. Each group needed a vain bride, otherwise it wouldn't be the same. There had to be one who thought she looked the best.

As Takeshi began snapping photos of Kandi as she stuck her chin out with a smug smirk on her face, Melissa headed into wardrobe as Takeshi had told her to. Sayo just watched with amusement as Kandi posed enthusiastically for each photo. Takeshi told her to be a little more natural for some, and she complied. Sayo was surprised to see a genuinely happy face creep onto Kandi's face. It made her really happy that she asked Takeshi about the two of them participating.

Just as Takeshi snapped the final photo for Kandi, Melissa stepped out of wardrobe, dress hiked up off the floor so she didn't step on it. Sayo's attention shot over to Melissa as she walked out sheepishly. She was still nervous about wearing the gown, since she was still so young, and wasn't really thinking about marriage at all yet.

Melissa was the only one of all the girls to pick out a ball gown. That's right, a full ball gown. A sweetheart neckline, boned corset bodice with a beautiful pattern on it, a court train, and a tulle skirt, cascading down from the waist in layers of ruffles. A Christina Wu creation. It was stunning. Even Takeshi stopped and stared for a moment. Her shoes matched the dress perfectly. From the ankle strap, all the way down to her toes, tulle petals were sewn onto the shoe as a decoration. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ MelissaWedDress .jpg ) (Shoe Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ MelissaWedHeels .jpg )

"Mellie, I'm so jealous of you right now, stealing all the attention," Kandi pouted as she passed by Melissa as they swapped places in front of the backdrop.

"Sorry," Melissa mumbled, a blush creeping onto her face. She was thoroughly embarrassed now. Sayo entered wardrobe, anxious to get her dress on.

However, when she stood in front of the camera, she returned to her normal self. She posed gracefully, a serene expression overcoming her features. She didn't have to do much, or more realistically, she couldn't do much in the dress. So she kept to making sweet faces, bending at her waist a bit, and playing with the layers of the skirt a little bit. For her last photo, she spun around, causing the skirt to come off the ground a little bit. Takeshi was able to catch the fun in her eyes as she spun.

Sayo walked out of wardrobe in her dress, a blank expression on her face. She had seen herself in the reflection of the mirror, and slipped deep into her own thoughts. Who was going to see this magazine? Who was going to see this article? Would the girls tell the guys and get them interested enough to buy one of their own? And, if so, would they show Ryu? What would he think when he saw her in a wedding gown?

All these questions running through her head caused her to block out all the others' comments. What they were saying didn't matter now. All she cared about were the possible answers to those questions.

"Sayo-chan," Takeshi pulled her out of her thoughts by touching her shoulders.

She blinked several times before realizing what she had been doing. "Sorry, I'm ready," She smiled and looked up at him.

Sayo wore a mermaid dress with a sweetheart neckline, and a court train, by Lazaro. The beading on the dress was exquisite, and possibly hand sewn, starting from the bust of the dress, and extending down to the middle of the skirt. As she walked, the skirt kicked up a little bit, and the fit of the dress was absolutely perfect. Like a glove. Her shoes were quite simple. White sandal heels, with straps made of stretchable materials so she could just slip them onto her foot without having to use a clasp, and two jewels placed over the toes and by the ankle strap respectively. (Dress Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ SayoWedDress .jpg ) (Shoe Link: i718. photobucket albums/ ww185/ KameLuvr9/ Bridal/ SayoWedHeels .jpg )

Sayo posed for her photos, giving herself an air of mystery. She didn't want to seem too happy in the dress, even though she really was, and she didn't want to seem unhappy about it either. Takeshi didn't want her to be mysterious the whole time though. He finally told her to think about when she danced. So she did, and a smile took over her eyes and lips. She even danced a little bit in the dress. A smile crept onto Takeshi's face as he saw her dancing and snapped photos like a madman.

After Sayo's individual shots were done, Takeshi called Kandi and Melissa over to the backdrop once again for the group shots. This part, of course, didn't take too long and they were finished with the session. The girls headed back into wardrobe and changed back into their own clothes. The people who brought in the dresses, took them back out and left to return them to the boutique.

Sayo stayed back with Takeshi for a moment before she left the studio and told him she'd send him off at the airport, and would make sure she'd bring Yoshida along with her so he could meet him.

Takeshi nodded his agreement.

* * *

Two days later, Takeshi was being sent off by Sayo and Yoshida at LAX.

"_I'm really glad you could come out, Takeshi-kun_," Sayo smiled genuinely at her cousin.

"_I'm glad you asked me about your two friends, they'll add a bit of diversity into the photos_," Takeshi told her.

"Okay, one Cinnabon, and one Chai latte," Yoshida walked up to Sayo with said snacks, handing her the latte and taking a bite out of his cinnamon roll.

"Thanks Yoshida-kun," Sayo smiled at him.

"_No problem, by the way, it's nice to finally meet you, Noda-san_," Yoshida bowed to Takeshi. "_I've heard a lot about you from Sayo-chan_."

"_Likewise, I've also heard quite a bit about you from Sayo-chan_," Takeshi bowed to the man politely. "_So, do you think you're going to be American champions? Do you have that kind of faith in Sayo-chan?_"

"_Of course I do, otherwise I wouldn't have brought her over here with me in the first place_," Yoshida answered bluntly. "_Or rather, I wouldn't have come over here at all if I hadn't had faith in her_."

"_I see_," Takeshi nodded, understanding by the man's attitude and optimism. A voice came over the loud speaker announcing that Takeshi's flight was now boarding. "_Well, it's time for me to go_," Takeshi bowed and began to turn away from his cousin.

"_Tell Miku-san I say hi and I wish her luck with the planning_," Sayo told him before he got too far away so she didn't have to yell.

"_I will_," Takeshi nodded his head and turned fully away from them. "_And Yoshida…_"

"_Hai?_" Yoshida acknowledged Takeshi, waiting for him to finish.

"_Take care of Sayo-chan for me_," he told the man and walked off before anything else could be said.

"_Of course, I wouldn't dare not to_," Yoshida called after him, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"_See you!_" Sayo called after her cousin one more time as he entered the terminal to board his plane.

Once the door was closed, Sayo sighed. It would be a while before she would see him again. In fact, she would probably be going to see him next time. For the wedding. If only she knew what was running through Yoshida's head right now.


End file.
